


Sometimes, Dead Is Better

by toad_in_the_road



Category: Gravity Falls, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bill Cipher Being Bill Cipher, Crossover, Demons and Shit, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Magic, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Possessed Peter Parker, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Rhodey is just along for the ride, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Why Did I Write This?, im gay, poor Nebula
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-03-29 09:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 18,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19016779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toad_in_the_road/pseuds/toad_in_the_road
Summary: ***FORMERLY KNOWN AS 'READ THE FINE PRINT'***After the snap, the disaster of saving the world, Tony Stark is willing to do anything, ANYTHING to find some hope for the kid.Even if it means looking in the wrong places.





	1. Bad Ideas

_"Don't go beyond, no matter how much you feel you need to, Doctor. The barrier was not meant to be broken...the soil of a man's heart is stonier, Louis. A man grows what he can, and he tends it. 'Cause what you buy, is what you own. And what you own...always comes home to you."  
-Stephen King, Pet Semetary _

Tony knew he was dreaming, which was odd. 

He was standing in a sort of wheat field, gray and empty, silence except for a whistling wind. Broken robots and pieces of sparking tech scattered the landscape, like landmarks.

“This is new.” He said out loud. Now, after the snap, he either didn’t dream, or had nightmares of watching the kid disappear over and over and over and over…

He had barely made it back to Earth alive, with Nebula in the ship. After Thor killed Thanos, Tony had went with Pepper and just sort of...left. There wasn’t anything here for him anymore. 

The wheat around him suddenly flattened, and the wind picked up, and there was a high pitched laugh. Tony whirled around, and there was a bright flash of light. 

“OH, HELLO EARTH! DIDJA MISS ME?! IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK, LADIES AND GENTS, IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK!” A floating yellow triangle with a top hat and bow tie appeared, it’s single eye looking pleased.

“W-what the hell?!” Tony stammered. The triangle tipped it’s hat at him. 

“BILL CIPHER, NICE TO MEET YA! QUITE AN INTERESTING HEADSPACE YOU GOT HERE, HAVEN’T SEEN THIS MANY THOUGHTS ZOOMING AROUND SINCE OL’ SIXER BACK IN THE 70S!” The thing-Bill Cipher-floated around Tony, inspecting him.

“This...this is a dream.” Tony said, turning away.

“THAT’S TRUE, BUT SO WHAT IF IT IS? I FIND THAT VERY OFFENSIVE, I WANT TO HELP YOU AFTER ALL! OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE I COULD BE POPPING AROUND TO OFFER HELP TO, I CHOSE YOU! AREN’T YOU HONORED?”

Tony glared. Bill floated back slightly. “WOAH, COOL IT WITH THE DEATH GLARE! I JUST GOT OUT OF A MIND TRAP! THE GUY WHO WAS HOLDING ME WENT KA-POOT, ALONG WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE. INCLUDING SOMEONE YOU KNOW VERY WELL, EH?” Bill elbowed him.

Tony swatted at him. “Listen here, you freak-”

“WHAT IF I TOLD YOU I COULD FIX IT?” 

Tony froze. 

“SEE? THAT GOT YOU QUIET. LISTEN HERE, I’VE GOT SOME POWER. I CAN’T BRING EVERYONE BACK, BUT I CAN DO ONE PERSON. AND YOU ONLY NEED ONE PERSON, DON’T YOU?” 

“So what’s the catch?” Tony asked. Even if this was a dream, he could entertain this.

“HA! SMART GUY! THE BUSINESS PART OF YOU NEVER REALLY LEFT, DID IT? ALRIGHT, METAL HEAD, I DO NEED A LITTLE SOMETHING IN RETURN. A BODY. I CAN’T REALLY INTERACT WITH THE PHYSICAL WORLD. BUT I SURE WOULD LIKE TOO. I JUST NEED A BODY.”

“Not mine. Or Pepper. Or Happy.” Tony said quickly. 

Bill laughed. “SOUNDS FAIR! NO ONE ELSE? NONE OF YOUR LITTLE SUPERHERO FRIENDS?” Tony just grit his teeth. 

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!” Bill stuck out his hand, and blue flames lit up his palm. “SO! WE HAVE A DEAL? A BODY SO YOU CAN SEE SPIDER GUY AGAIN?” 

Tony was quiet, thinking. It was a dream, after all…

He stuck out his hand, shaking Bill’s. The fire enveloped his arm, suddenly ice cold, unbelievably so for a dream-

And then he woke up.

*** *** ***

Ford was in Gravity Falls again, tinkering uselessly in the secret underground lab of the Mystery Shack. Since...everything, there didn’t seem to be much point in creating. 

Not with Stanley gone.

He was lucky, he knew that. Everyone defied the odds. By some miracle, Gravity Falls was almost entirely untouched by the sudden death of half the world. Dipper, Mabel and their parents were in shock, but safe.

So it seemed very pointed that the universe decided to take Stanley.

There was clanging behind Ford, and he sighed. “Soos, I appreciate it, but I’m really not hungry-” He froze. At the top of the stairs, there was the outline of what he assumed to be a teenager, long and lanky, standing straight as though an iron rod was in his back.

“Are you one of Wendy’s friends? She’s not here now. Come back later.” Ford turned back, and froze as though stabbed when the teen started to laugh.

That laugh…

“THAT’S THE GREETING I GET? I’M HURT, SIXER, REALLY.” The teen stepped into view, and Ford blinked with confusion. He vaguely recognized the blue and red suit with a spider emblem on it. One of those heroes that were so common now, but he was sure this one wore a mask. The teen was pale, with brown curls framing his face, a too-big smile plastered across his face like a Cheshire cat. And most chilling, his eyes were yellow slits.

“B-Bill?!” Ford gasped, jolting back.

The teen-or Bill Cipher, he supposed-spread his arms as if welcoming rain. “THE ONE AND ONLY! AND BOY OH BOY AM I HAPPY TO SEE YOU!”


	2. A Brand New Bill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short but i'll probably put in another chapter today

“THIS BODY MAKES YOUR’S AND PINE TREE’S LOOK LIKE COLLEGE DORM ROOMS!” Bill smiled widely, flexing his fingers. “THIS ONE’S GOT IT ALL! SUPER STRENGTH, STICKY FEET, I CAN DO THIS-” A line of silvery webbing shot from Bill’s wrist, shooting Ford backwards. “AND THIS COOL SUIT! LOOKS PRETTY AWESOME IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. I THINK I’LL KEEP IT WHEN I’VE SUCCEEDED.”

“What do you want, Cipher?! Your plan failed! We defeated you!” Ford snapped.

“THAT YOU DID, ALTHOUGH BARELY, I MIGHT ADD. I UNDERESTIMATED YOU, I’LL ADMIT. BUT NOW? WITH A BODY FROM THIS DIMENSION, I CAN GO ANYWHERE! AND I WANT YOU TO MAKE A NEW PORTAL OUTSIDE THIS HICK TOWN. IT’LL BE AN ADJUSTMENT, BUT I’M SURE WE CAN MAKE ARRANGEMENTS. AND DON’T START,” Bill held up his hand, cutting Ford off before he could open his mouth. “I KNOW YOUR WEAKNESS, OLD MAN. YOU’RE A SENTIMENTAL OLD FART. AND I’LL BET YOU’RE EVEN EASIER TO BREAK WITHOUT YOUR OTHER HALF HERE.” Bill’s smile widened, seeing Ford flinch as though struck.

“Give the boy back his body. Or I’ll have to force you out of it.” Ford growled. Bill laughed, and his high pitched cackle sounded wrong coming from a teen’s mouth, only a few years older than Dipper and Mabel. 

“I MADE A DEAL, FAIR AND SQUARE! AND EVEN IF YOU DO GET ME OUT, THIS BODY’LL JUST DIE! TURN TO DUST! LIKE YOUR BROTHER!” 

Ford choked. “You...you brought the boy back?!”

Bill shrugged. “I BROUGHT BACK HIS BODY. BIG DIFFERENCE. AND LUCKY FOR ME, IT’S MORE THAN ENOUGH TO KICK YOUR BUTT.” Bill pulled on a mask, and the eyes of the mask narrowed menacingly. “COME WITH ME AND BUILD THE DAMN PORTAL. I WON’T ASK AGAIN-OOMPH!” 

Ford grabbed the gun at his belt, immediately blasting Bill with the stun mode, a ball of energy rocketing the boy back, knocking over a table and denting the metal wall. The gun could have knocked out a bodybuilder, but Bill just laughed, standing up slowly, shaking himself out. “NOT BAD, SIXER! NOT BAD! BUT YOU’VE ONLY DELAYED THE INEVITABLE.”

And the possessed super hero leapt at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep in mind...bill is still a liar....


	3. Petty Revenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imagine living in mcu new york. how stressful

Tony was on his way to the West Coast before he could even put down his phone.

At 1:30 the following morning exactly, Rhodey texted him a screenshot from Twitter. It was blurry, but Tony could make out the outline of a red and blue figure swinging from buildings. The caption read _Spidey in Seattle??? It’s more likely than u think #spiderman #screwyounyc #wegotourownheronow_

“FRIDAY, track the suit, give me vitals, and call the kid.” Tony said, zooming over the Midwest at near supersonic speeds.

“Currently, Peter Parker appears to be in Gravity Falls, Oregon. His heart rate and breathing are elevated, likely from exertion. Calling Peter Parker now.” The AI responded, and Peter’s contact photo popped up in the corner of Tony’s view. The kid didn’t pick up.

“Alright, put me through.” Tony said. Another few minutes and he’d be there. 

“-BETTER THAN I THOUGHT! BEEN WORKING OUT?” Tony winced. Peter’s voice was louder, more high pitched than he remembered. 

“Kid, you there?!” Tony asked breathlessly. There was a pause, and then a laugh that made Tony shiver for some reason.

“AH, METAL-MR. STARK. IF IT ISN’T THE MAN OF THE HOUR! LOOK, I GOTTA LITTLE SITUATION OVER IN A LITTLE PLACE CALLED GRAVITY FALLS-HEY, KNOCK IT OFF SIXER! I’M ON THE PHONE! DON’T BE RUDE!” Tony heard something crash.

“Are you alright?” Tony asked, feeling sick.

“NEVER BEEN BETTER.” Peter drawled. 

“I’m less than thirty seconds away, I’ll be there. What’s going on-?”

“HANG UP, TOOTS. I GOT WORK TO DO.” Toots? Was he referring to Karen, his AI? What, was Peter watching mobster movies before he came here?

The call ended. 

Oh, they were going to have a serious talk about this once Tony was done hugging Peter.

*** *** ***

“JUST GIVE UP, SIXER! I GOT BACKUP COMING LIKE YOU WON’T BELIEVE!” Bill said, hanging from the ceiling, tilting his head at the man who was still aiming his space gun at him. 

“Not until you’ve been sent back to hell where you belong!”

“I WAS IN HELL! FOR A WHILE! THANK GOD YOUR DUMBER BROTHER KICKED THE BUCKET, IT WAS HORRIFIC-” 

With a shout of rage, Ford set the gun to kill mode, aiming-and was blasted out of the air.

“I don’t appreciate people messing with my interns, old man.” In all his blaze of glory, Iron Man came through the smoking ruins of the house. At least Soos and Melody were out for the day. 

“Iron Man?! What the...wait. No no no, that isn’t him! That’s not-OOF!” Ford shot backwards, covered in webbing and stuck to the wall. “No no! That’s not him! You were tricked!” Ford shouted, struggling as Bill walked up to him. 

“NOT BAD, SIXER. BUT YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR LITTLE POSSE TO PROTECT YOU NOW.” He said. 

Iron Man’s faceplate popped up, and Ford started, seeing the man had tears in his eyes. “K-kid?” He asked horsley. “You...you’re really here?” 

Bill leaned next to Ford, pointing finger gun at Iron Man. “WHO’D YA THINK IT WAS, CHARLIE CHAPLIN?” 

Oh. _Oh._ Now it was too clear. 

Somehow, Iron Man knew Spider-man, and cared deeply for him. Something must have happened...Iron Man wouldn’t listen to Ford. He wouldn’t listen to reason. But Ford had to do something…

….an idea popped into his head. Risky, but he didn’t have a better choice. 

He grunted, leaning back and banging his head against Bill’s as hard as he could. Bill yelped, jumping away, clutching his head, more surprised than hurt. “YOU JUST REALLY WANNA PISS ME OFF DON’T YOU?” Bill growled, starting back to Ford, but not before Iron Man grabbed his arm.

“Pete, you okay?! Let me check your head-” The man reached for the mask, and Bill yanked away. Iron Man looked surprised. “Kid, please, I don’t wanna deliver you back to your aunt with a concussion, she’ll eviscerate me-”

“NOT IF I DO IT FIRST, DON’T TOUCH ME OR I’LL REARRANGE YOUR GUTS.” Bill snapped. Iron Man froze, clearly thrown off by the comment. 

“It’s not him! That’s not him! That’s-” Webbing covered Ford’s mouth, and all he could do was yell muffled nonsense. 

“I’LL SHUT YOU UP-” Bill turned back to Ford, but Iron Man stepped in front of him.

“Hey, kid, let’s go. I’ll have people take care of him, and we can finish our Star Trek marathon. How about that?” 

Bill was tense, then shrugged, back to his nonchalant self. “SURE, WHY NOT, I COULD USE A BREAK-”

“Who the hell are you.” Iron Man’s voice was suddenly icy. Ford wiggled, trying to free one of his hands to grab the taser gun in his pocket. 

“WHAT? I’M PETER PARKER, OBVIOUSLY-” 

“Peter likes Star Wars, not Star Trek. Who the hell are you?!” Iron Man looked agitated, balling his fists.

Bill held his hands up. “NOW LOOK, TONY-”

“And he never called me Tony!” Before Bill could react, Iron Man reached forward and ripped the mask off. Bill stumbled back, turning away. His posture first looked furious, but then he started to giggle, which turned into laughs, which turned into chilling cackles, echoing off the rubble.

“OH, METAL HEAD, YA GOT ME! GUESS I NEED TO DO MY RESEARCH, HUH?” Bill turned, revealing his unnatural grin and yellow, slit eyes, which looked all the more horrifying on a child than Ford remembered. 

Iron Man stepped back, face ashen. “Peter...where’s Peter?”

“SPIDEY’S NOT HERE RIGHT NOW, CAN I TAKE A MESSAGE? DON’T BOTHER, YOU’LL BE TOO DEAD TO GIVE IT. I HELD UP MY END OF THE DEAL. YOU GET TO SEE THE KID. I JUST DIDN’T SAY IF I BROUGHT ALL OF HIM BACK. AND NOW, I GUESS IT’S TIME TO CLEAR A FEW OBSTACLES.” 

Bill leapt at Iron Man, and Ford could see the man wasn’t going to defend himself. He watched his attacker approach, face a mixture of grief and horror, with overwhelming resignation of his fate-

Bill froze, eyes wide, and fell to the ground, convulsing as electricity from the taser gun coursed through his body. Iron Man yelled, and Ford managed to rip the webbing away from his mouth. 

“Don’t touch him!” Ford yelled. Bill’s head jerked to Ford, and though his jaw was clenched, he saw the face of the boy scowl at him, eyes narrowed.

Ford couldn’t resist a smile.

“Not so funny when you’re on the receiving end, huh?”


	4. A Bad Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be far apart. My laptop is fried and I can’t type for shit on my phone. Thanks for your patience

Tony stared at the limp body of Peter-no...whatever that thing was, it wasn’t Peter. But how…?!

“Kid?” Tony asked horsley, gently shaking Peter’s shoulder. Peter didn’t respond, face pale and relaxed, eyes closed and mouth slightly agape. “Peter?”

“That not Peter.” The old man webbed up to the wall said darkly, and he wriggled. “A little help?”

“What happened?!” Tony asked, horrified. “Is he hurt? I don’t understand…”

“His body is possessed by a Bill Cipher. A dream demon I have a sort of history with. Now get me down.” The man huffed.

“Demon?! Like...Satan or something?!” Tony asked. Out of all his fears for Peter, demonic possession had never been one of them. 

“Sure.” The man muttered. He stuck out a hand. “Stanford Pines. Weirdologist.” 

“The hell is that?!” Tony asked, going to shake his hand, then froze. The man had six fingers. 

The man sighed. “Yes yes, six fingers, digest your shock in private. Get me out.”

Tony gulped, carefully ripping the webbing off. Pines got down from his position eagerly, looking relieved. “Thanks. Now, we need to figure out what to do with him-“

“You won’t hurt him.” Tony interrupted. Pines gave him a look. 

“That’s not possible. If what Bill said is true, there’s nothing left. It’s not safe. He’ll kill us-“ 

“You don’t know him.” Tony snapped. 

“I don’t need too! I know Bill!” Pines yelled. 

“Look Count Ruben, I don’t care. I’m not watching him die again, possessed or not.” Tony snapped. “You’re some kind of bootleg scientist, so find a way. Keep him contained or something.”

Pines shook his head. “I can’t-“

“What if that was your kid there?!” Tony snapped. 

For some reason, Pines flinched. He stared at Peter’s body, evidently deep in thought. 

“Please.” Tony said hoarsely. 

After an eternity, Pines slowly nodded. “Fine. But if it gets too dangerous...”

“It won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”


	5. Sunflower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IIIIIT'S EMMA!  
> *everyone gasps*  
> I need a bath!  
> "Yeah!"  
> Some yogurt!  
> "Yeah!!!"  
> AND A PLACE TO GO
> 
> CRY BECAUSE I WAS DEPRESSED THIS SUMMER AND I DIDN'T WRITE AND ALSO MY LAPTOP WAS BROKEN BUT I GOT A NEW ONE AND PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR MAKING Y'ALL WAIT SO LONG I LOVE YOU OKAY BYE

“BY THE WAY, YOUR MUSIC TASTE IS AWFUL.”

Ford jumped slightly, turning to the possessed child in the plexi-glass box. He hadn’t expected Bill to regain consciousness this quickly, but he supposed between the fact the host was enhanced and this was Bill Cipher, he shouldn’t be surprised.

“What?” Ford asked, turning his full attention to the crocodile grin.

“I SAID YOU HAVE AWFUL MUSIC TASTE. YOU WERE TRAVELING THROUGH DIMENSIONS FOR THIRTY YEARS, WHY AREN’T YOU MORE CULTURED?” He asked lazily, walking vertically up the walls and then sitting criss cross on the ceiling. Ford hid a shiver. 

“I’m not going to discuss my music taste with an interdimensional terrorist.” Ford said. 

“HOW ABOUT A TEENAGER THEN?” 

Ford’s eye twitch in spite of himself. “The host himself died in the blip. He’s gone.” 

“OR MAYBE THAT’S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO THINK!”

“Or maybe that’s what you want me to think.”

Bill cackled at this like it was the best joke in the world. It probably was to him. 

“Hey.” Ford sighed at the new voice. “Look, Stark, there’s no point-”

“I wanna talk to him.” Stark said, staring at the still chuckling Bill.

“Nothing will come out of it. That’s not Spiderman, that’s Bill, he’ll just mess with you…” Ford trailed off, seeing Stark was paying zero attention to his spiel. Ford sighed, glancing back at Bill. Bill had stopped laughing, and was staring at Stark with piqued interest, like a science experiment.

Or more like a cat stalking its prey.

“Five minutes. I’ll literally pay you whatever you want to give me five minutes with him.” Stark said.

Ford was quiet, knowing full well Stark would probably force him out if he refused, and he could cash in on the money promise to maybe pay for Mabel and Dipper’s college fund, or something of the like.

Ford sighed deeply. “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Tony watched the older man head up the steps, seeming to regret his decision a little more each step. Tony turned back to...to whatever this thing was, staring and smiling with eyes that for some reason reminded him of sunflowers.

“You tricked me.” Tony said lowly.

“PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN’T JUST FIGURE THAT OUT. I THOUGHT YOU WERE SMART, METAL HEAD.”

“Why? Why did you do this?” Tony asked, voice suddenly hoarse. The sunflower eyes squinted, considering this lazily.

“IT’S FUN, FOR STARTERS. FUN ALONE MAKES UP NINETY PERCENT OF WHAT I DO. THE REST OF IT IS A SPOILER ALERT.” He said, metallic voice. Suddenly Peter’s eyes-Bill’s eyes-snapped too him, the grin spreading to reveal Peter’s gums. “I KNOW WHY YOU DID WHAT YOU DID THOUGH. BECAUSE IT’S YOUR FAULT AND YOU WANTED TO TRY AND FIX IT. BUT YOU DIDN’T. I’M HERE NOW.”

Tony clenched his teeth. Seeing Peter now was disturbing in a way he couldn’t describe. He never bent over, like his spine had been replaced with a metal rod. His speech was a weird mix of an old time news reporter and a serial killer, and his smile looked painful. But his eyes…

They made Tony sick. An evil sunflower staring out at him, trying and most likely succeeding in pinpointing a weakness. This wasn’t Peter Parker. It was the furthest thing from it. 

But his mind was more than willing to push that logic away.

“Pines was right. Talking to you isn’t getting me anywhere.” Tony stood up, heart aching as he turned to leave.

“HEY HEY, QUICK QUESTION BEFORE YOU GO.” Against logic, Tony turned back to Bill.

His face lit up with malicious joy, enjoying every second. “WHAT’S A SUNFLOWER?”


	6. Taboo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Humor? In this book? More likely than you think

“So, like, the dude’s a zombie now?” Soos asked Ford, enthralled by the tale. 

“Technically, the body is dead when being possessed by the non-native entity, so in a very loose way of speaking, yes.” Ford said, not really focused. 

“The kid got dusted. His Instagram has been dead for a while.” Wendy turned her phone to Ford, showing a picture of the teen doing a flip in some sort of park. The caption read _What you don’t see is Aunt May yelling at me after I did it again and fell because I got distracted by a pigeon. ___

__Teenagers these days._ _

__“He’s Spider-man? That’s not what I pictured under the mask.” Wendy said, biting her lip._ _

__“You know Spider-man?” Ford asked._ _

__“Well, not personally, of course. I follow most of the news involving it. He’s pretty new. There were rumors he was Iron Man’s illegitimate kid.” Wendy said, scrolling through more photos._ _

__“I like Spider-man. Like, I get the Avengers are too busy stopping like, aliens and stuff, but I like that there’s someone kinda like them helping with small stuff.” Soos said._ _

__“That was what he said.” Stark walking in, pen in his mouth and flipping through a massive stack of papers._ _

__Soos started. “Oh wow, Iron Man! This is even cooler than when I fit fifty marshmallows in my mouth!” Stark looked up, rather confused by this comment._ _

__“You know, I’m something of a handy dude myself. I mean, I never built a super suit or whatever, but I know everything about this vending machine.” He patted the said machine, quite pleased._ _

__“Uh...cool. Good job.” Stark said, entirely unsure what to say. Silence fell over the group, and Wendy was about to ask if Stark had anything before Soos spoke again._ _

__“You’re shorter than I thought you would be.”_ _

__“Okay!” Ford quickly stood up, clapping his hands together before Stark could get too offended. “Did you tell anyone about this...situation?”_ _

__Stark shook his head. “What would I even say? ‘Hey, my intern who’s also Spider-man is now back but he’s also possessed and he can read minds-’”_ _

__“He read your mind?!” Ford interrupted, startled. That was bad, very bad._ _

__“I-I mean, I guess? I was just thinking about sunflowers and he just asked me what a sunflower was.” Stark said._ _

__“...you were in the presence of one of the most dangerous beings in the multiverse, and you were thinking about sunflowers?!” Ford asked incredulously._ _

__Stark shrugged._ _

__On cue, Ford’s ancient laptop started to buzz, and the screen turned green with blocky text that read INCOMING VIDEO CALL._ _

__“What’s that?” Stark asked as Ford scrambled for it._ _

__“My great niece and nephew. But this isn’t a very good time so-dammit.” Ford’s face fell as the screen changed to a young girl with braces and her face pressed too close to the camera._ _

__“Hi Grunkle Ford! Look what I made for Waddles!” The camera shifted to a pig wearing a Stormtrooper helmet. “Ta da!”_ _

__Ford smiled thinly. “That’s wonderful Mabel, but now isn’t a good time-”_ _

__The camera was suddenly snatched by a boy who looked strikingly similar to the girl. “Hey Grunkle Ford, can you come to Piedmont for fall break? We-OH MY GOD IS THAT TONY STARK?!” Tony dropped the paper, surprised by the scream. He thought he was out of view._ _

__Ford sighed. “Yes, it is.”_ _

__“WHY IS ACTUAL IRON MAN IN GRAVITY FALLS?! Is he here to like, study anomalies or something?” The boy asked._ _

__“No way, Iron Man is there?! Lemme see!” The girl, Mabel, fought for the camera. “Is Thor there?! I wanna see Thor!”_ _

__“You just have a crush on Thor!” The boy accused._ _

__“Everyone does! And I want Waddles to hold his hammer, he’s totally worthy!”_ _

__“Waddles doesn't have hands!”_ _

__“Kids! Only Stark is here. And it’s...not important why. Dipper, don’t drop your cellular phone.” Ford said._ _

__“I’m not! So are you two like..friends now?” Dipper asked._ _

__“No.” Tony and Ford said at the same time._ _

__“Aw, we can fix that! Just hug it out!” Mabel said. Stark looked disgusted._ _

__“Look, I would love to chat with you two, but I’m really busy with Iron Man doing...Iron Man stuff. I’ll call you two back the second I get the chance. Okay?” He went to hang up, but Dipper yelped._ _

__“Wait wait wait! We just...wanted to check on you.”_ _

__Ford froze._ _

__Mabel nodded. “We’re...we’re really sorry about Grunkle Stan.”_ _

__Ford was very quiet for a long time, struggling with words. “...it wasn’t your fault.” He glanced at Stark, more accusingly than he probably meant too. “I’m just glad you two are okay.”_ _

__“Are you holding up okay?” Dipper asked. Ford was once again quiet._ _

__“...yes. I have Soos and Wendy. I’m not alone. The town’s been good too. Lazy Susan keeps giving me pie. I just wish it was fresh…”_ _

__“Alright. We love you, Grunkle Ford. Call you tonight?” Mabel asked. Ford managed a grin and nodded, clicking the exit on the video call._ _

__“GET ME TONY STARK’S AUTOGRAPH-” Dipper yelled before the video cut out._ _

__“Who’s St-” Tony stopped talking, seeing Wendy and Soos shake their heads frantically. Ford either didn’t notice or pretended not too._ _

__“...alright. Let’s get back to work.”_ _

__*** *** ***_ _

__The door to the underground lab creaked, and Bill glanced up, a bit surprised. It was Metal Head, carrying a tray of food._ _

__How weak._ _

__Bill’s grin flashed, but he didn’t say anything, waiting for the human to speak first. Metal Head slipped the tray through the tiny food slot, standing up to look at Bill._ _

__“Peter...this body has an enhanced metabolism. You need to eat a lot.” He said quietly._ _

__“SO THAT’S WHAT THIS FEELING IS IN THE GUT. FASCINATING! THIS IS A NEW PAIN! I LOVE IT!” He cackled._ _

__Metal Head waited for the laughter to stop, then slipped in something else, a colored picture of something bright yellow. “You asked what a sunflower is.” Metal Head nodded at the photo. “This is a picture of one.”_ _

__Bill’s face slipped into one of shock. He knew what a sunflower was, he had only been toying with the man. But this...this shocked him._ _

__How dumb was this man to believe that Bill could be swayed by flora? Or...oh my God. He actually thought he could get through to Bill, or some remnant of the host that once used this body._ _

__Everyone told him. Bill himself warned him. Yet this idiot didn’t listen._ _

__Surely it wasn’t going to be this easy…_ _

__Keeping his shocked face, Bill crept to where the photo lay, keeping the body tense, as if he was nervous Metal Head would attack him. (Ha!)_ _

__Once he had snatched the photo, he scurried back to his spot, examining it as though it fascinated him. He made his face into an expression of interest._ _

__“...HM. INTERESTING.” He said in an unsure tone. Metal Head nodded._ _

__“I...I think I could get you a real sunflower. If you wanted.” The man said slowly._ _

__Bill slowly looked up at him. The confused expression wasn’t hard to fake. A grateful one was. “I...WOULD LIKE THAT.” Bill said, in what he hoped was a hesitantly hopeful voice._ _

__Apparently it satisfied the man, as he nodded, going back to the elevator and offering the tiniest smile as the elevator doors closed._ _

__Bill’s grin returned tenfold._ _

__Oh, this WAS going to be easy._ _


	7. Luck, Carol, and a Very Grave Mistake

“Something’s wrong with Grunkle Ford.” Dipper said, swinging his legs over from his bed, causing the family’s fat grey cat to abandon it’s spot on the pillow.

“Something’s always wrong with him. It’s called being a nerd! Heyo!” She cheered, throwing her pillow at him. Dipper dodged.

“No, seriously. He didn’t lose his mind over Star Wars Waddles. He’s not excited about literal Tony Stark in his house, the person who he said he was gonna fight about his portal thesis with.” Dipper said firmly. Stormy the cat struggled to climb onto Mabel’s bed. Unfortunately, Waddles was already there. 

“...yeah. Maybe it’s just the stress of everything?” Mabel said.

“I think you missed the part about literal Iron Man. And he didn’t call us back.” Dipper retorted. 

Mabel bit her lip. “Do you think it’s like...Avengers stuff, or Gravity Falls stuff?” 

“Maybe both? I dunno. But something’s going on and we need to figure out what.”

Dipper paused suddenly, seeing Mabel bite her lip and look down. Dipper blinked. “Mabel?”

She wriggled nervously. “I...should we though?” 

“Should we what?” Dipper asked, confused. 

“Should we investigate.” She looked up, face suddenly taunt with fear. “Dipper...we’re lucky. Like, really really lucky. We survived two apocalypses. I don’t…” She looked down. “I don’t want to tempt fate.”

“You think we should just let it slide then?” Dipper asked, shocked at what he was hearing. 

“I’m saying that this time, I don’t think everything is going to be okay.”

*** *** ***

“SO HE TRIED TO KILL YOU?! OH MY GOD, NOW THAT’S A PLOT TWIST.” Bill said, looking quite enthralled with the Iron Man origin story.

Tony nodded. “I should have seen it coming. People have betrayed people for worse reasons.” 

“IS YOUR BLOOD PUMPER-”

“Heart.”

“THAT’S WHAT I SAID. IS IT STILL IN IMMINENT DANGER?” 

Tony gave him a look. “Nice try kid. Killing me by making a weird magnetic current isn’t gonna work. I got the shrapnel out a bit ago.”

The elevator suddenly dinged, and Bill looked up with piqued interest. The door opened, and Tony sighed. “Look Pines, it’s not my fault your vending machine lover employee gave me the password to get down here-”

“Who?” A female voice asked. Tony turned and instantly swallowed. None other and the Space Avenger herself, Captain Marvel.

“Captain Danvers.” Tony nodded at her. She didn’t return the nod, staring at the glass case with suspicion. “What are you doing here?” 

“We had a meeting. Rhodes told me about a supposed dusted person returning.” She nodded at Bill, short hair only adding to her fierce appearance.

Tony felt like a child caught with one hand in the cookie jar. “...I like your haircut.” He said lamely.

She ignored him, striding up to the glass and gazing inside. Bill stared back, for once not seeming entirely sure of himself. The illogical (and growing) voice in Tony’s brain wanted to yell at Carol for making him so nervous. 

“What are you? A Skrull?” She asked, in a voice that dared he test her.

Bill took a moment to regain composure, and then smiled brightly. “WANNA KNOW THE BEST PART ABOUT HAVING A MOUTH? I CAN DO THIS!” He promptly wolf whistled at her.

Carol only raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“CAUSE I DON’T WANNA TALK TO YOU. YOU DON’T LIKE ME. YOU JUST MET ME, THAT’S VERY JUDGEMENTAL, CAROL DANVERS.”

She blinked. “How…?”

“OH, I KNOW LOTS ABOUT YOU! YOU USED TO BE A PILOT FOR THE MILITARY, AND THEN YOU CRASH LANDED AND GOT KIDNAPPED BY THOSE KREE SNOBS, IN THE PROCESS GETTING GLOWING HANDS! SHOULD I GO ON?” He grinned, still pressed against the glass, as far away from Carol as possible. 

Carol turned to Tony. “That’s not a human, in case you were wondering.” 

“THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING!” Bill struggled to stand, stiff legged and shaky, like the metal rod in his spine had spread across the rest of him. Tony glanced over at the stumbling Peter-no, Bill-and raised his eyebrows. Bill grinned, shrugging. “RIGOR MORTIS. A BITCH, HM?”

“Rigor mor-” Tony started, but Carol already started speaking. 

“Whatever you are, some sort of parasite, you need to leave. Now.” Her hands began to glow threateningly, and Bill lost his balance, ending up sprawled on the ground. 

“A PARASITE? AW, LIGHTBULB, MY FEELING ARE HURT.” He managed to lift his head up, smile all the more frozen. “I AM OLD AS, MAYBE OLDER THAN THE UNIVERSE. I’VE HAD EACH INFINITY STONE USED AGAINST ME, AND NONE OF THEM HAVE SUCCEEDED IN DESTROYING ME YET. YOUR LITTLE LIGHT BEAMS ARE CUTE, BUT EVEN IF YOU SLICED ME IN HALF RIGHT NOW, YOU’D ONLY DELAY ME. PLUS, METAL HEAD HERE WOULD BE PISSED AT YOU.” He nodded at Tony.

Carol glanced at Tony, looking concerned for some reason. 

“...what about all six stones?” Carol asked. Bill shrugged.

“THE STONES WERE DESTROYED, DON’T TRY TO SCARE ME SWEETIE.”

“Don’t call me sweetie.” Carol retorted. It might have been Tony’s imagination, but he thought he saw Bill flinch.

Carol turned, giving Tony a look. “Don’t make a mistake. I’ll be back soon to check up on this.” She went to the elevator, giving Bill one last look before the doors closed.

Tony stood up to go after her, but Bill spoke first.

“TONY.” 

Tony froze. Bill had never called him Tony…

“I’M RUNNING OUT OF TIME.” He held up a stiff hand, forcing his fingers to bend with an audible crack. Both Tony and Bill flinched hard.

“Based on everything I’ve heard, you running out of time would be a good thing.” Tony said, voice uneven. Bill struggled to stand again, needing to use the wall for support.

“I’M SORRY I TRICKED YOU. IT...IT WAS THE ONLY WAY I COULD THINK OF.” He said, sounding desperate. Tony stepped back, startled by this utter shift.

“You tried to kill Pines. You would have if I didn’t stop you.”

“HE’S BEEN TRYING TO KILL ME FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS. HIS WHOLE FAMILY HAS. AND SINCE HE LOST HIS BROTHER...HE’S…” Bill bit his lip. “SOME PEOPLE DON’T HANDLE LOSS WELL. HE WAS ALWAYS DANCING ON THE EDGE, BUT NOW…” Bill slid down against the wall. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT HE’LL DO TO ME. TO YOU. IF YOU GET IN HIS WAY.” 

Tony was quiet, considering this. “...you’re lying. You’ve been taunting me for the past few days.”

“I THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN OUT BY THEN, AND I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO GET ATTACHED WHEN I LEFT. BUT...SIXER KNOWS HIS ENGINEERING. I THINK I BROKE MY FOOT TRYING TO BUST THE GLASS.” Bill held up his left foot, which Tony noticed was curled inwards disgustingly. How had he not noticed that?!

“PLEASE. I JUST WANT TO LEAVE. I JUST WANT TO LIVE.” 

Tony narrowed his eyes, trying to push down the internal shouts that now held him hostage. _It’s Peter! It’s Peter! He’s hurt and scared and that man is going to hurt him again and again…_

“And what exactly do you want me to do?” He asked lowly.

“GET ME OUT BEFORE HE DISSECTS ME, FIRST OF ALL. AND… I’M FALLING APART. YOU STOPPED SHRAPNEL FROM ENTERING YOUR HEART FOR YEARS, SURELY YOU CAN NOT LET ME TURN TO MUSH…”

Tony stared at the kid, taking him in. Stiff, unable to move without explosive pain, breaking his own fingers just to point. He could see his brittle hair, ready to crack off like an icicle, and each knob of his spine protruding through his suit. His eyes were too big for his face, and wide with fear. 

His kid was scared.

Tony stood slowly, and opened the food slot, sliding in a meal and a change of clothes. “...I’ll see what I can do.” He said quietly, making a beeline for the elevator.

Not seeing Bill’s confident smirk return.


	8. Breakout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like y’all should know that Morgan is around by now 
> 
> Hehe

Ford sat at the kitchen table, fingers tapping, each after the other in nervous melody. A small cardboard box sat in front of the table, containing the only solution he knew to stop the impending doom. God, he wished Stan was here. He was so much better with humans. He would say the right thing to assure Stark that this was best, he was doing the world a service, Peter would want him to do it and it wouldn’t hurt the boy himself in any way…

And all Ford knew how to do was spit logic at an illogical man.

On cue, Stark entered, rubbing his face. It was early morning, and he was pretty sure this man ran perfectly fine on two hours of sleep. They had that in common, at least.

“Hey Pines. Got any coffee?” He asked, rummaging through the cabinets.

“Tony.” 

Stark immediately turned at the sound of his first name, looking concerned when he saw Ford’s solemn face. Ford pushed the box toward him. “This has gone on long enough.”

Stark looked unsure, opened the box, and froze.

Inside lay Ford’s disintegration ray.

“...I don’t know what the hell this is, but whatever it is I want nothing to do with it.” Stark said, putting the lid on again.

“This has gone on long enough,” Ford said, trying to sound gentle but stern. It failed. “We aren’t getting anything out of this. We never would. I entertained this at first, but the longer Bill stays here, the more likely something bad is going to happen.”

“I’m not listening. I’m not having this discussion.” Stark turned, going to leave, and rage suddenly reared up in Ford’s chest.

“This isn’t your decision to make! This is my house, my equipment, my enemy! It’s not my fault you were dumb enough to shake his hand, you’re lucky he didn’t steal your body and start blowing up the world by now!” Ford stood up suddenly, wood chair flying back.

“I’m not watching my kid die again Pines! I won’t let it happen! I’ll fly that damned glass box back home myself if I have too!” Stark yelled back, ready for a fight.

“You think you’re the only one who lost someone?! Look around you! Everyone lost someone! That doesn’t mean you get to risk what’s left!” Ford gestured wildly.

“Yeah, I know, I heard about your brother,” Stark said, and Ford stiffened. “So let me ask you; what would you do?” Stark snarled.

For some reason Ford couldn’t quite identify, this was the final straw. “Let me explain something to you.” He hissed lowly. “One, Peter is dead. He’s been dead for, oh, about a year or so now. Two, Bill Cipher is not Peter. He’s a being of chaos, and he will kill you if you open the door. Three, I’m going to end this. Whether you like it or not.”

Stark stared at him for a long moment. “Please.” He croaked. “Just...just let me leave first. I have to call Pepper, get everything together…”

Ford liked to believe he wasn’t moved by desperate pleas. But that was a lie, and it was an even bigger lie since he lost Stan. And the desperate pleas of a father?

Ford sighed deeply. “You have an hour.” He collapsed back into his chair. 

Tony nodded, and rushed out, breathing a sigh of relief.

As it turned out, Bill wasn’t the only manipulator.

*** *** *** 

“Hey. Get up, we gotta go.”

Bill blinked his eyes open. This body was fabulous, but unfortunately, like all others, it needed to sleep. He turned, smiling slightly when he felt a spark of electric agony through the spine.

There were so many new types of pain.

“AH, NOW WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE?” Bill asked, smiling easily at Metal Head, who looked nervous. The tattered Spiderman suit was discarded in the corner, and now Bill had on jeans, socks, and a long sleeve shirt displaying something called ‘Metallica’.

“Pines wants to kill you. He’s going to.” Metal Head said.

_I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM TRY!_

But he couldn’t say that, so he let his face go slack and widened his eyes. “W-WHAT?” 

“Yeah, I know. Look, we’re leaving. I got FRIDAY to get one of my cars here, but we gotta get out of here now.” Metal Head stopped. “You...won’t kill me, will you?”

“WHY WOULD I?! YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO’S BEEN NICE TO ME.”

_WHICH IS WHY I’M GONNA ENJOY THIS SO MUCH._

“Yeah okay, I’m still gonna keep this on me.” He flashed a silvery pistol. Disintegration gun. It didn’t strike Bill with any particular fear. If the worst scenario happened and he was struck, he would just start over.

Annoying, yes, but he had done it before.

“OKAY, I GUESS THAT’S FAIR...BUT THE CODE. IT’S LOCKED-” Bill paused, watching Stark type quickly. 

The code was ‘Stanley’.

Bill grinned. So sentimental.

The glass door hissed, and opened. Bill hobbled out, making faces in pain that he didn’t mean, but sure seemed to convince Metal Head. 

He smiled at the tense man, and offered a stiff arm. “SHALL WE?”


	9. The Stench

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: hmmm i haven't got much inspiration, i'll take break!  
> *reads pet semetary*  
> :)
> 
> also i wanna make bill-peter artwork but i cant draw to save my life

Tony was home, but he had yet to make himself get out of the car. 

Peter-no, Bill-was asleep, head pressed against the window, his breath fogging it up. He had fallen asleep about halfway through the drive and had barely moved since then. Maybe that was better. Bill had been fiddling with the windows, radio and air conditioning since he set foot in the car, but Tony hadn't had the heart to tell him to stop. It was just so much like Peter...

Bill could be wrong. Maybe Peter was in there somewhere, buried but waiting to be let out...

"I'll be right back." Tony told Bill. Bill didn't respond, of course. Tony kept the car on and running, but locked the doors. Just to be safe.

Pepper was up, of course. She had a talent for catching him in the act. "Where have you been?" She asked in a panicked whisper. Right. Morgan must be asleep. 

"I...business." He said vaguely. Pepper gave him her patented look. Tony sighed. "I'll explain everything, I promise. I just...need you to keep an open mind."

She looked startled. "Now you're freaking me out. Where were you? What happened? Why-" She paused, sniffing the air. "Ugh, do you smell that?" 

Tony hesitated. "What?"

Pepper made a face. "It smells like a dead animal or something...nevermind." She shook her head. "I want an explanation right now." 

"Okay okay okay." He opened the door. "But remember what I-" And he froze, his heart plummeting to his feet.

His car door on the passenger side had been torn off. 

Morgan started crying over the baby monitor. Tony was under the impression that five-month-old babies slept through the night, but apparently, he was wrong. 

Pepper gave him a dirty look. "Now you woke her up. Don't go anywhere. This conversation isn't over." She rushed up, looking exhausted.

Tony was still staring at his car, unable to process the sight. Had the kid woken up and panicked? Where had he gone? Tony didn't even realize he was strong enough to rip apart a car from the inside. And so quickly. Where was he-

A terrified scream from Pepper sent him sprinting upstairs faster than he thought possible. Though in a moment he sorely wished he hadn't, for the sight that greeted him was something his worst nightmares could have never conjured.

Two beady, sickly sunflower eyes stared at him from his baby daughter's room, reflecting light in a way that the eyes almost look independent from a body. Tony's eyes adjusted, and the rest of Peter came into view, smiling that awful smile that split his face, sallow and papery skin gripping his face like a too-tight mask. He cocked his head at the horrified Pepper and Tony.

He was holding the wailing, helpless Morgan in his knobbed and twisted hands.

"WHY, HELLO AGAIN, METAL HEAD." He said, his voice fairly quiet but sounding like a shout. "AREN'T YOU GOING TO INTRODUCE ME TOO YOUR LOVELY FAMILY?"


	10. Blinded by Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hits blunt* what happens to you if the snap happens and ur pregnant*

"-could be the basis for time travel!" Scott finished, breathless. The Black Widow and Captain America stared at him like he was crazy, which seemed highly unfair.

Here he was, thrust into this new world of half of the population gone, with an alien with a magic glove, and the fact that the Van Dynes were gone, and they stared at him?

Captain America glanced at Black Widow. "We...would need to ask for help."

Black Widow pursed her lips, seeming to understand something Scott was oblivious too. 

"What? What is it?" Scott asked.

"Well...Tony's the best one to help with that." Captain America said. Scott's face fell.

"Is...he dead?"

"No. He just...it's complicated." Black Widow said.

Scott blinked. "I...I just suggested that we can time travel back to fix this crap, and you just say it's complicated?! How complicated can it be?!"

*** *** ***  
"SO HERE'S THE DEAL," Bill said lazily, taking a seat in the chair across from Morgan's crib. "I TALK. YOU DON'T. I GET WHAT A WANT, AND YOU GET THIS BACK IN ONE PIECE." He gestured to the wailing Morgan.

Tony never thought how he looked at someone would change so quickly, but here he was. Peter's body barely looked like his own, he resembled an extra from an old zombie movie. His skin was an odd color, and Tony could see every bone in his body, and swelling where he had hurt himself, either purposefully or from rigor mortis. He seemed to be able to move now, but now he had a loose air around him as if he might fall apart.

And the smell...

Tony couldn't fathom how he hadn't noticed the smell before. It was suffocating, infecting the air and choking out life so it could thrive, so death and chaos could have their way. He made Tony sick to look at, and Tony vowed to throw out that chair that the...thing was sitting in. The chair was infected.

And Morgan...

The very thought of her being near this monstrosity, let alone being held by it...

How had he not noticed this before? It wasn't Peter. It wasn't anywhere close to him. It was a corpse with a monster inside.

You did notice, you just pretended you didn't. 

"Please...just put her down. You don't have to do this." Pepper said in a wobbly voice, eyes fixed on her daughter.

"OH, THAT'S TRUE, TOOTS. THE THING IS, I WANT TOO!" He laughed, and the laugh made Tony forget for just one second this was the face of Peter, and he wanted nothing more than to put his fist through its ugly face.

"Peter, please, we don't-" Pepper said, but she was cut off. 

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?! I'M NOT PETER!" He snarled, and Tony's heart skipped a beat when he saw Bill's fingers tighten around Morgan in anger.

"Put her down." Tony said in a low voice.

Bill looked bored and rolled his eyes. "PLEASE. AS IF I TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY. AND DON'T INCH TOWARDS THAT GUN. IF YOU SHOOT ME, YOU TAKE OUT YOUR BABY TOO." 

Tony's fingers inched away from the stolen silver barrel. "You tricked me." He said in a hollow voice.

"THAT I DID. YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO BLAME. I TOLD YOU WHO I WAS. SIXER TOLD YOU WHO I WAS. AND YOU STILL DIDN'T LISTEN. SPIDER-MAN? HE'S DEAD. HE'S BEEN DEAD FOR A LONG TIME." He leaned forward, looking eager. "HOW DID IT FEEL, METAL HEAD? HOW DID IT FEEL TO WATCH HIM BEG FOR HELP, WATCH HIM DIE, KNOWING IT WAS YOUR FAULT?"

"Stop it!" Pepper said, stepping forward, freezing when Bill held up a knobbed finger warningly. "...just...give her back. Don't hurt her. Please."

"OH, WE'LL SEE. FIRST YOU NEED TO COMPLY TO MY DEMANDS." Bill said.

"Never." Tony said without thinking.

Bill's eyes narrowed. "YOU ALREADY LOST ONE CHILD, METAL HEAD. ARE YOU REALLY PREPARED TO LOSE ANOTHER JUST FOR YOUR PRIDE?"

Silence. 

Bill's smile returned. 

"NOW, YOUR PHONE IS ABOUT TO RING." On cue, Tony's phone buzzed in his pocket. Bill's smile widened.

"ANSWER IT."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ive never smoked weed please dont tell my mom


	11. Semi Ex Machina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gets a lil gross here. just a warning.
> 
> FINALLY i get to put a pet semetary reference in here!!!!
> 
> happy early birthday to mabel and dipper!!!!

"HEY HEY, COME ON METAL HEAD! TIME'S A-WASTING!" Bill grinned, bouncing his leg in excitement, sitting in the backseat of the car. 

Pepper stared straight ahead in the passenger seat, looking sick. Tony's hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were white.

The windows were rolled down, but it couldn't get rid of the smell.

The rotting, sick scent of Bill-Bill, who was _using_ Peter in the most invasive way possible-permeated everything around him. It was the smell of decay. The smell of hatred. 

It did, in every single sense, smell like death.

And the roaring in Tony's ears from the wind rushing by did nothing to block out Morgan's wails. 

"HEY! ARE YOU DEAF?! I SAID STEP ON IT!" Bill said. Tony clenched his teeth, slowly stepping on the gas, the roar of the engine making Morgan cry louder. Pepper winced, looking seconds away from doing something stupid.

God, fate, or whoever decided these sorts of things, decided to throw Tony a bone in the form of vomit. Morgan stopped crying, suddenly spitting up her dinner, whether to the rancid smell or constant crying Tony didn't know. 

What Tony did know was that Bill looked disgusted, finally finding a human function he didn't find at all fascinating. He held Morgan away, about to complain, and Pepper saw her opportunity. 

Before Bill could react, Pepper scooped up Morgan, holding her close to her chest. Bill looked surprised, and then furious, starting to climb to the front seat to take Morgan back-

_He's not wearing a seatbelt._

Tony slammed on the brakes, and Bill lurched forward, bursting through the windshield and flying out into the center of the intersection.

Pepper hugged Morgan tightly to her chest, gasping. "Are you okay?" Tony asked breathlessly.

Pepper nodded and screamed.

Bill was standing up, bloody and broken. He turned slowly, glaring, ready to kill them-

A massive semi-truck roared by, hitting Bill. Pepper gasped.

When the truck was gone, so was Bill.

Morgan wailed again, and instantly, Pepper and Tony fussed over her.

"Do you think...do you think that did it?" Pepper asked.

Tony nodded. "I don't think one of my suits could have survived that."

*** *** ***

"Dammit, dammit, dammit..." Ford muttered, desperately searching for anything that could help him track Bill.

How could he be so stupid? Of course Stark was trying to manipulate him, get Bill out of here...who knew what Bill was doing now?

"Did he say where he was going?" Wendy asked, looking worried.

"No! But I have a feeling he's not at his tower. And even if he was, I'm not going to be allowed in." Ford muttered.

"He was so cool." Soos said, sounding sad. 

"Idols will only let you down, Soos." Ford said, jumping when he heard something let out a shrill noise. His phone.

Ford scooped it up, struggling for a moment. "Hello?" No one ever called him.

"Uh...hi? This is Scott Lang. Ant-man? You probably don't know me...uh, so have you seen Tony Stark?" The voice asked, sounding very much like they didn't want to make this phone call.

Ford stiffened. "Stark? Why, have you seen him?!"

"Uh, no, not yet, he's on his way up, but he's not responding to our calls and we found out this was the last place he was-"

"Where is he going?!"

"Look, man, I don't know you. I can't just reveal super-top-secret Avengers stuff-" The voice paused. "...aw, shit, I wasn't supposed to say that."

"Listen to me," Ford said, heart beating out of his chest. "I need to get to him. He's bringing an interdimensional monster with the potential to wipe out the universe with him."

Silence on the other end. "...I really wish that was the weirdest thing I heard all day." 

"Well, it's true. And you need to tell me where he's going right now before he brings the monster to you." Ford said.

"Why would Tony bring a monster? He doesn't hate us that much, does he?" The voice weakly joked.

"The monster is possessing the body of a teenager." Ford said flatly.

Silence.

"Oh shit."

*** *** ***

Charlie Orinco was having a good day until he ran over the kid.

He had been speeding, no doubt about that. Way more than he should. His eyes had drifted to his speedometer for only a second, and when he looked up at the nearly always silent intersection, the light was green, but there was a kid standing in the road. 

It took a full minute to stop the truck completely.

Charlie fell out of the truck, panting, not wanting to believe what had happened. _I killed someone. Oh my God, I killed a child._

The body must have been dragged along, as it was laying crumpled at the edge of the road. Charlie raced towards it, feeling sick. 

It was a boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen, arms and legs each at an odd angle, with his ribs nearly ripping through the skin, looking like a disgusting, bloody skate ramp.

Though oddly, there wasn't nearly as much blood as Charlie expected. 

The boy suddenly gave a wheeze, and Charlie almost sobbed. "Oh my God-stay still son, I'm calling an ambulance, you'll be okay, don't worry." He fumbled for his phone in his pocket.

The boy mumbled something, and his eyes blinked open. For some reason, his eyes were yellow and had slits instead of pupils. Maybe a side effect of getting hit by a car? 

"No no, don't talk, save your strength." Charlie said, kneeling next to the boy. He put his fingers on the boy's wrist gently, trying to track a pulse.

But...oddly, there was none. 

Charlie blinked. "How the hell-"

It happened so fast, Charlie couldn't process it. All he knew is one second he was kneeling next to a hopefully not dying kid, and the next the very not-dead kid was hoisting him off the ground, hands wrapped around Charlie's throat in a crushing grip. 

Now Charlie wheezed, kicking and struggling uselessly. 

"CAR." The boy said in a chilling, garbled voice. "WHERE DID THE CAR GO?!"

Charlie tried to remember the intersection and retrieved the image of an Audi, zooming away after he hit the boy.

The boy who was now squeezing the life out of him.

Charlie pointed, and the boy's eyes followed, a disgusting, bloody grin spreading across his face.

"Please..." Charlie wheezed. "Family...!"

The boy cocked his head, grin only growing. "A FAMILY, HUH? DON'T WORRY, BUDDY. I'LL MAKE SURE TO PAY THEM A VISIT AFTER I'M DONE WITH MY WHOLE UNIVERSAL DOMINATION THING, I'M SURE YOU UNDERSTAND."

The pressure around Charlie's throat tightened to an unbearable amount. There was a crack, a chilling, nightmare-ish laugh and then-

Nothing.


	12. A Monkey Wrench in the Time Heist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: so it's weird i have four peters running around in my stories  
> friend who helps me out with my shit: five  
> Me: what  
> Friend: yeah your crypt tv one? where you killed him?  
> Me: oh shit i killed peter 
> 
> like yall i dont even remember writing it there was no lead up or anything, peter just got skewered and bled out that was it am i okay

Bill's journey back to the Compound was slower than he'd like to admit. 

His legs, for some reason, didn't work very well, and he was continuously dragging his left side along, leg hanging loosely from the hip. Every once in awhile, he had to stop and pop something back into place with a wet crack so the body's advanced healing could work correctly. 

It was annoying. 

But finally, he reached the Compound, ears picking up a low drone from inside. The time machine, or something of the like. 

Bill grinned. 

Wonderful.

The door was unlocked, those idiots, and he was able to slip in easily, leaving a trail of blood and gore. He stared at the machine, grin growing. It was easy to figure out how it worked, and where the group had been. If he could help make a portal, he could figure out the dinky little time machine that Metal Head had made.

He typed in a few coordinates, knowing exactly who he wanted to follow. 

Metal Blue.

*** *** ***

"You're weak." Nebula snarled.

Nebula glared at her, more irritated than scared. "I'm you." She said incredulously. 

The mission probably couldn't have gone worse. As it turned out, with two Nebulas in the same timeline, their metallic brains collided through their servers, and that led Thanos straight to her, straight to their plan. 

Great. 

Gamora stood off in the shadows, watching past Nebula beat up future Nebula, seeming entirely unsure what to do. Nebula tried to catch her eye, knowing now that her sister had been itching for a chance to leave Thanos, and she could offer that now, Gamora could beat Nebula...

But every time she caught her sister's eye, Gamora looked down. 

"Enough." A rumbling voice said. The Nebulas and Gamora looked up to see Thanos enter the room, glaring at the Nebula with gold armor with disgust. "You, daughter, would betray me?" He in asked in what he seemed to think was a sorrowful voice.

But Nebula knew better now. "I would make the same choice every time." She spat, and the other Nebula delivered a hard blow to her head as if to prove her loyalty to Thanos.

Thanos' face was unreadable, but Nebula's eyes flicked in surprise to another pair of eyes, yellow and glowing in the shadows.

"A LITTLE ADVICE, ONE EGOMANIAC TO ANOTHER." A high-pitched, ringing voice drawled, and past Nebula and Gamora drew their weapons, ready to attack as the figure emerged. "ASSUME EVERYONE WANTS TO BETRAY YOU. BECAUSE THEY DO, WHO WOULDN'T WANT THE UNIVERSE AS THEIR FOUTON?" The voice laughed, and Nebula could see them now, and she blinked, mechanical eyes whirring in shock.

"You...y-you're dead." She said, speechless. 

It was the boy, Stark's son. The one that broke him. In her pitful life, she had seen many parents break when faced with their dead children. It was always the same-they sagged as if deflated, and their eyes dulled, drugged by grief and shock. That was Stark's demeanor, even if he rather good at hiding himself.

But now...the boy was here. Though he wore what Nebula assumed was civilian clothing, and his slitted eyes were the eerie, glowing yellow color that alarmed her. Terran eyes weren't that color or shape.

And the boy...

He was limping, and he looked like he had been dragged through hell. What parts of his body that weren't colorfully bruised or bloody was a sickly white-green, like mold...

The boy-or whatever it was now-grinned at Nebula. "I WOULDN'T SAY I'M NO LONGER DEAD. MORE LIKE, 'I'M USING THIS BODY BECAUSE METAL HEAD WAS DUMB ENOUGH TO MAKE A DEAL WITH ME'. YOU MAY KNOW HIM AS TONY STARK." Nebula blinked, and the boy's vicious smile grew wider. "OH, HE DIDN'T TELL YOU? A SHAME."

"Enough," Thanos said, staring at the boy. "What are you, and how did you get past my guards?" 

"SNEAKING AROUND IS ONE OF MY MANY TALENTS, BUDDY. NOW, YOU'LL WANT TO LISTEN TO ME, OR YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A HARD TIME IN ABOUT...OH, TWENTY MINUTES." The boy grinned, limping into the room with a confident air.

"How dare you threaten my father!" Past Nebula said shrilly, raising her weapon, pausing only when Thanos held up his hand for her to wait.

"OH PLEASE. I DON'T NEED TO THREATEN. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM, TOOTS. I MAY LOOK LIKE A HUMAN CHILD, BUT LET ME ASSURE YOU; IF I WANTED TOO, THIS SHIP WOULD BE NOTHING BUT A FEW BALLS OF METAL. LUCKY FOR YOU, I DON'T WANT TO DO THAT." The boy grinned brilliantly at Thanos, the contrast between the massive Titan and the child all too clear, making the child look a bit ridiculous, especially with how injured he was. Though the fact that he was moving easily with what was clearly a destroyed-beyond-saving-left leg carried some weight.

"BILL CIPHER'S THE NAME, WRECKING WORLDS IS MY GAME. I'M NOT GONNA BORE YOU WITH THE RUNDOWN OF YOUR LITTLE TIME TRAVELER FRIEND BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT. I, HOWEVER, AM A NEW PLAYER." He gestured to himself. "YOU DESTROYED THIS GUY WHEN YOU WON BACK WHERE I'M FROM. I BROUGHT HIM BACK-WELL, HIS BODY ANYWAY-WHEN AN IDIOT DECIDED IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO TANGLE WITH ME."

"And why are you here?" Thanos asked, looking Bill up and down.

"SAME AS YOU, WORLD DOMINATION, CHAOS, A QUEST FOR THE INFINITY STONES. HERE'S WHERE WE ALIGN," He said when Thanos' glare darkened at the mention of the Stones. "I DON'T WANT THEM. I JUST WANT SOMEONE ELSE TO HAVE THEM, AND FROM WHAT I SEE YOU WANT THEM PRETTY BAD. SO HERE'S WHAT I PROPOSE; YOU GET THE STONES, DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU DO THIS TIME, AND YOU SIMPLY GIVE ME THE POWER TO OPEN A PORTAL TO MY HOME REALM."

"And why would I do that?" Thanos asked. "I could just as easily kill you." 

"OHOHO, I WOULDN'T TRY, RAISIN BOY. I'VE BEEN IN THIS EMPTY BODY LONG ENOUGH MY OWN POWERS ARE LEACHING IN." As if to emphasize this, Bill's hands lit up with blue flames. "YOU'RE GONNA WANT MY HELP. AND WE'RE GONNA WANT TO GET BACK SOON. IF THEY BRING BACK EVERYONE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A ROUGH TIME. THEY'LL HAVE ALL THE STONES SOON. ACT NOW, AND THE STONES ARE YOUR'S, AND I JUST NEED A GATE TO MY HOME SO ME AND MY PALS CAN HANG OUT IN YOUR DYSTOPIA."

"And you won't interfere with my plan?" Thanos asked.

Gamora's eyes widened, and future Nebula was glad to see that at least she knew this was bad. "Father, surely you can't consider this-"

"I'D SHUT MY MOUTH IF I WERE YOU, TOOTS!" Bill rounded on her, blue flames appearing all over him, suddenly mad. "YOUR ALTERNATIVE IS BLEEDING OUT AT THE BOTTOM OF A CLIFF, YOU WANNA DO THAT INSTEAD?!"

"Hush daughter." Thanos said, staring off in deep thought. Gamora blinked, looking confused by Bill's words. She looked at future Nebula, who tried to tell a story too big for words with her mechanical eyes.

Gamora looked away.

"Alright, Cipher. But we send Nebula, not you. You will stay here with me and my army until Nebula can allow us safe passage to their timeline." Thanos said.

Bill's smile looked ugly, but he gave a stiff shrug. "FINE, WHATEVER. SHAKE ON IT?" He offered a tiny, flaming hand to Thanos, who didn't move.

"I'M A FORMAL GUY, WHAT CAN I SAY? THE FIRE'S JUST FOR SHOW." His grin never wavered.

After a moment of deliberation, Thanos shook Bill's hand, the boy's hand dwarfed by Thanos.

Bill grinned. "THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it hits different when the marching band plays iron man now


	13. The Gauntlet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to post the funnily bad art i made for bill possessed peter but turns out you have to post it somewhere before you can put it in ao3 and i dont wanna do that because its that bad.
> 
> like its not self deprication im just not an artist but i thought it would be funny to show but eh :(

Ford was flying across the ghostly highway when his phone buzzed.

After a moment of deliberation, he picked it up, ignoring the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hey, Grunkle Ford, we-are you driving?" It was Dipper. 

Driving would be a dead giveaway something was wrong. Ford hated driving, and for good reason; he was awful at it. He would speed at levels that even Stan called ridiculous...

Ford shook the thought away. Focus. "Why would you ask?" He said.

"The car is really loud. Where are you going? Is something wrong?" That was Mabel. He was on speaker, most likely...

"...is it just you two?" He asked lowly. 

"Yeah. Grunkle Ford, what-"

"Bill's back." 

There was an awful silence.

"He possessed one of the Avengers-or one of their bootleg friends, I'm not sure. Spider-man. Spider-man was dead, but somehow Bill managed to bring his body back to possess him. Iron Man made a deal with him. Spider-man and Iron Man have...a complicated friendship, I guess because Iron Man busted him out and now they're heading to the Avengers headquarters-"

"We can help!" Dipper said.

"No. Absolutely not. This is different from last time." Ford said.

"What?! If we beat Bill once, we can beat him again!" Dipper said. "Especially if he's not even using his physical form."

"If Bill let Iron Man live after he busted him out, he has to have some sort of plan." Mabel said quietly.

"Exactly. And I have no idea what that plan is, but I don't need him tricking the other Avengers. If he can trick Iron Man, he can trick the others." Ford said. 

"What about Spider-man himself? Is he just...floating around somewhere?" Mabel asked.

Ford paused. For all his frantic guesses on Bill's plan, he had never really considered the host. He knew Spider-man was dead, and more than likely he still was. Bill was only using his vessel. 

"I...don't think Spider-man is alive in any sort of way. Including his soul." Ford said slowly.

"What if he comes back? What would happen?" Dipper asked.

Ford paused, considering this. Spider-man hadn't made the deal with Bill, so technically, the boy himself never surrendered control. 

"...he might try to get his body back, assuming that's even possible," Ford said. "But he couldn't overtake Bill. No one can."

"You should make a puppet!" Dipper blurted out.

Ford blinked. "What?"

"A puppet. That's how Dipper warned me about Bill when he got possessed. He used a sock puppet. That way, Spider-man can still talk to you guys and help you out if he comes back." Mabel said.

"The odds of Spider-man being here are one in trillions upon trillions-"

"What if he's in the car with you right now?" Dipper asked suddenly.

In spite of himself, Ford jerked his head up, looking around the car. Nothing. He was alone.

"He's not," Ford said with more conviction than he felt. "But...I'll make a puppet, just in case."

"Give it eight pipe-cleaner legs! 'Cause he's Spider-man." Mabel shouted.

"We don't have time for that." Dipper said.

"There's always time for art." Mabel said wisely.

Ford cracked a smile. "I'll call you when this all blows over. It'll be fine, I promise." He lied.

"Love you, Grunkle Ford." Mabel said, not sounding convinced at all. 

"Yeah, me too." Dipper said, copying her tone.

"Love you two as well." Ford clicked the phone shut before he could crack, tossing it in the seat next to him. 

The roar of the engine was deafening.

"If you're here," Ford said, feeling stupid. "Give me a sign. Anything. There's gotta be something. Come on, Spider-man."

Ford waited.

Nothing happened.

He shook his head. He was being stupid.

Ford gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. He had a job to do, and a demon to kill.

*** *** ***  
"I guess he was wrong then." Scott mused suddenly. 

Tony glanced up, unsure if the question was being directed at him. "What?"

"I was calling that place you were-I wasn't the one who tracked you, don't get mad-and there was an old guy who said you had a monster or something." Scott shrugged. "I guess he was wrong." 

Tony blinked, a feeling of nausea creeping up into his throat, seeing Peter's body fly out of his car, and dragged along by a semi-truck, the smell persistent and unending-

"Yeah. I don't even know what that's supposed to mean." Tony said, turning back to the task at hand. The gauntlet. 

Very, very carefully, he lowered the delicate robotic fingers clutching the final stone near the shiny red gauntlet. The stone sparkled, and Tony nearly flinched. The stone settled into the gauntlet, and with a hum of power, the gauntlet shuddered and then held still.

Tony let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. 

"RAH!" Rocket screamed, cackling when everybody reacted violently with jumps and yelps. 

Tony turned away, trying not to think about his sudden desire for one of those raccoon skin hats.

Pepper was with Morgan at a hotel. They were safe. They'd be fine if...something went wrong. 

"It's ready." He said. 

Nat's death wouldn't be in vain. He would make sure of it.

*** *** ***

If the sudden burst of light from the approaching building startled Ford, he didn't mention it. 

"What the hell-who left the compound door unguarded?!" Tony said, standing up suddenly when Ford strode into the room, ignoring Bruce who was still unable to stand, ignoring Rocket, ignoring everyone except for Tony.

He punched Tony in the face.

"Hey!" Scott yelped, startled, rushing forward. Tony fell back, more surprised than hurt, despite feeling blood trickle down his lip. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ford yelled, looking ready to punch him again. "Where's Bill?!"

"Who's Bill?" Steve asked, looking confused. 

"It's fine...he's dead." Tony said, standing up shakily, waving off Rhodey's attempt to help him up.

Ford looked relieved, anger literally sagging out of him. "Did you disintegrate him?" 

"Disintegrate who?! Someone got disintegrated and I missed it?!" Rocket asked excitedly.

Ford finally seemed to notice Rocket, blinked at him, and then promptly ignored the talking raccoon. Evidently, he had seen stranger sights.

"He flew out of my car window and got hit by a semi-truck." Tony said.

"Is Bill this monster guy? Are you the guy I spoke to on the phone?" Scott asked, turning away from the birds in the window. 

"Monster?" Clint asked.

Ford was shaking now, face ashen. "God, that's it?! He's not dead, something as mundane as a semi-truck could never kill him..." He looked around at the gathered Avengers, looking manic. "What are you doing, standing around?! Put the place on lockdown! He could be on his way here already, we can buy ourselves time-"

"TIME IS THE ONE THING YOU DON'T HAVE, SIXER." A voice drawled. 

Ford felt sick, turning to see a pair of glowing eyes in the shadows of the doorway. Bill was wearing the metallic suit again, but the mask was off, his bruised and bloodied face was visible, Cheshire grin lighting up his face. 

He didn't even look like a boy anymore. Now he looked like a monster.

And the smell...

Ford's hand reached for his disintegration ray, but a quick line of webbing yanked it away. "DID YOU MISS ME?" Bill asked, voice uncharacteristically soft. Soft for Bill, at least.

"Tony, is that Spider-man? You said-" Steve started, but Bill held his hand up.

"YES YES, METAL HEAD HERE MADE A DEAL WITH ME AND BROUGHT THE KID'S BODY BACK, THINKING I WAS DOING HIM A FAVOR. WELL, MY BODY NOW. FINDERS KEEPERS." Bill tilted his head, and Ford heard a wet noise like someone dropping jelly on a hard floor. Bill had completely destroyed the body. He wouldn't do that unless...

"Physical form." Ford said in a horrified voice.

Bill clapped. "DING DING. THIS BODY'S BEEN FUN, I WON'T LIE, BUT I STILL PREFER MYSELF. AND THIS TIME, SIXER, I'M OUTSIDE THE DOMAIN OF YOUR LITTLE HICK TOWN. IT'LL BE FUN TO DESTROY IT FROM THE OUTSIDE, WATCH IT CRUMBLE...I THINK I'LL ASK THANOS TO LEAVE IT INTACT SO I CAN TAKE CARE OF EVERY PERSON THERE PERSONALLY. AND THOSE TWINS..."

"I swear to God, Bill, if you hurt them-" Ford growled, but Bill laughed. 

"WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO, SIXER? YOU'RE POWERLESS. THE ZODIAC IS GONE, I DON'T NEED ANYTHING FROM YOU. YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME. GOD, IT'S GOING TO FEEL SO GOOD TO WASH MY HANDS OF YOU." 

"You don't have to do this." Steve said, trying to appeal to humanity.

Except Bill had none. 

Bill limped out, dragging his left side behind him. "OH, NO I DON'T, CAPTAIN, BUT I WANT TOO. JUST LIKE YOU WANTED TO HELP YOUR DEAR OLD PAL BUCKY. OR WHAT IS IT THEY CALLED HIM WHILE YOU WERE OFF GALIVANTING WITH YOUR AVENGER FRIENDS? THE WINTER SOLDIER?" Steve took a step back, startled. "HOW DOES IT FEEL, AMERICAN IDIOT? HOW DOES IT FEEL TO LOSE HIM...LET'S SEE, THREE TIMES? AND BETRAY EVERYONE ELSE YOU CLAIM TO CARE ABOUT?"

"How-" Steve said, but Bill wasn't paying attention to him, glare fixed on Bruce.

"LOSING THAT LOVELY REDHEAD? SHE WAS LOVELY, SHAME SHAME SHAME, REALLY. BECAUSE YOU," He turned to Clint. "WEREN'T QUICK ENOUGH TO STOP HER. WHAT WILL YOUR FAMILY THINK OF YOUR NEW MURDEROUS STYLE, HM?"

He looked to Scott, looking bored. "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY THE HELL THEY TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY, YOU'LL BE THE FIRST TO DIE."

He turned to Rhodey, grin tilted sideways. "HOW DID IT FEEL, HM? TO FALL FROM THE SKY? FEEL YOUR SPINE CRACK IN HALF?"

"That's enough!" Tony shouted. 

"AND YOU-" He turned to Rocket, who snarled. "I HAVE A RIDDLE FOR YOU. WHY DID I DIVE FOR COVER?"

"Guys..." Scott said, looking out the window. A shadow fell over the compound. 

"BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE WRONG NEBULA."

And the world exploded.


	14. Assemble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finished the book you aint gonna like it

Ford gasped, pain shooting up his right ankle. Water was dripping onto his head, giving him the uncomfortable sensation of drowning.

He looked around, heart sinking. The building had collapsed around him, and the beam was pressing on his ankle. Ford wriggled his toes experimentally, relieved to feel no pain. Worst case scenario, he had sprained his ankle.

"Hello?!" Ford called, trying to scoot his body carefully in a way that wouldn't jostle the wreckage around him. The world around him tilted, and Ford froze, terrified that the wreckage would give out underneath him. 

"Hey man." The man from before, Scott, suddenly appeared next to him with a whoosh. Ford yelped, startled.

"Yeah, I'm Ant-man. I can shrink and grow. You've probably never heard of me." He said sadly.

Ford blinked, not wanting to confess he didn't. "No, no I know you! You uh...San Francisco?" He blurted out a random city.

To his surprise, the helmet covering Scott's face disappeared, and he was grinning. "Yeah! Yeah, that's me, Ant-man!" He started lifting the beam on Ford's ankle carefully. "And you are?"

"Ford Pines." Ford said, yanking his ankle out of the debris. He looked at it carefully. It was swollen and bruised, maybe he had a hairline fracture, but he certainly wasn't out of commission. 

"No, what's your hero name?" Scott asked.

"I...I'm not a superhero." Ford said lamely.

Scott grinned. "Dude, you're one of us now."

*** *** ***

Tony approached the seated Thanos, Thor and Steve flanking him. Bill sat on a tall piece of debris, grinning widely as if he was about to receive a present. 

"I see now," Thanos said in a low voice. "How I was mistaken. I tried to help the universe. But they will never move on. Not so long as one single person remembers what was. There will never be peace." He sighed as if this deeply pained him. Bill caught Tony's focus and rolled his sunflower eyes dramatically. Even the demon thought Thanos' 'for the greater good' mantra was a pile of bullshit. 

"So I'll create a new universe, built on top of this one. A utopia." Thanos said.

"A universe built on blood." Steve spat.

"THE BEST KIND." Bill said.

"No one will know. It's the only way." Thanos said.

"And you, devil?! What do you have to gain from this madness?!" Thor snapped at Bill.

Bill laughed. "I'M A LOT MORE SIMPLE, THUNDER BOY. I JUST LIKE TO WATCH THE WORLD CRUMBLE INTO CHAOS, RESHAPE IT, AND START FROM SQUARE ONE." 

"Like hell, you will." Tony said, hearing the low whine of his suit powering up. 

Bill cackled. "THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!"

*** *** ***

"Shit!" Rocket gasped, shaking himself out. Ford plucked the raccoon out of the rising water, ignoring the hiss and snap he was given in return. 

"Hurry hurry, I don't know where the others are." Scott said desperately. 

There was the unmistakable boom of an explosion outside, and everyone jumped. "I think they're outside." Bruce said, holding his blackened arm to his side weakly. 

Ford turned, but suddenly, there was snarling, and Clint-that was his name-burst through the wreckage, clutching the gauntlet, several odd-looking monsters with burned skin and several limbs on his tail.

Ford was faster, though, yanking out his magnet gun and blasting a massive pulse. The creatures squealed, and collapsed, liquid oozing out of them.

"What the hell is that?! I want one!" Rocket said, hopping up next to Ford. 

"Magnet gun." Ford said, turning back to the source of the commotion. 

"They need help."

*** *** ***  
Steve was thrown back by Bill, who was cackling, having way too much fun with this. He stretched his hand out, trying to see if Mjolnir would come, but Bill kicked him in the face, sending Steve stumbling.

Thanos rushed forward, slamming the massive sword on top of him, and Steve barely had time to hold up his shield in defense, mouth dropping open in horror when a huge chunk of the shield cracked off. 

Thanos jabbed at Steve again and again, finally swinging and throwing him back, his shield no more, vibranium rubble on the ground.

Steve shakily stood up, and Bill cackled. "I CAN DO THIS ALL DAY." He said, voice mocking.

It was horrific to see him. Not just because he looked like a corpse, and a broken one, but because if Steve looked hard enough, he could see what was once a child underneath all the blood and chaos...

It made him sick. 

Steve panted, jaw set. He'd go down fighting.

"...Steve-" 

A crackling voice echoed on his comm. One that was so familiar, but...

"Need some help?" The voice asked, the comm clearer. Bill suddenly frowned, looking unsure, as if suddenly remembering something important.

There was a sparking noise next to Steve, and he looked over, seeing what he guessed was a portal open up, ringed with orange sparks. 

"On your left."

Steve felt a smile spread across his face, watching Sam soar out of the portal, patrolling the skies fearlessly. Countless other portals opened up, and Thanos took a step back, surprised. Bill grit his teeth, furious.

Steve turned, hearing loud chanting, and nodded at T'Challa, who was flanked by his sister and the entire Wakandan army, each one of them excited for battle. From another portal, odd-looking beings stepped out, one of which-who appeared to be the leader-wearing a metal mask similar to Scott's. The mask disappeared, and the man looked at Thanos with undisguised hate but blinked when he saw Bill, looking confused. He seemed to shake it off, holding up two futuristic guns, waiting for a signal. Even Ford-the man who had punched Tony in the face-was there, a slight limp, but gripping his own gun, fearlessly waiting for battle.

Thousands upon thousands of warriors surrounded Steve, all willing to die to protect the universe. Steve glanced at his side, seeing Tony. Tony gave a grim nod.

"Avengers!" Steve yelled, holding out his hand, giddy when Mjolnir responded, zooming to him. While few, very few of these people at his side were Avengers in writing, it didn't matter at all. They were here, willing to help, and really, that's all it took to be an Avenger.

A silence settled over the battlefield, for just one moment.

"Assemble."


	15. What Did It Cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont freak out btw, im changing the book title to something that fits better

Peter woke up very confused, although to be fair, this happened a lot.

But this had to take the prize for the weirdest thing that happened to him.

He blinked, on some sort of dusty terrain. The desert? He was pretty sure there weren't deserts in New York. 

Memories came back to him like that of a drunken man. The space donut. Sucking the creepy balding guy out of the ship. Footloose man. The wizard.

_Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good._

Peter sat up, except not exactly. He sort of...popped up into the air like he was floating. He looked down at himself, startled. 

He was see-through, floating off the ground.

"Shit." Peter said out loud. 

"Where is the boy?!" Someone said frantically, and Peter looked up. It was the wizard guy, no longer looking at ease. More so confused.

"Better question: what's going on?!" The footloose guy said. Peter wished he knew everyone's names. It was getting embarrassing. 

"No matter." Dr. Strange said, holding up two fingers, and using his other hand to make circles in the air. Sparks exploded behind Peter, and he jumped-floated-away. There was a dark and dusty terrain, close to the ocean, it appeared. 

There were the Avengers.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter shouted. But no one paid him any mind. He turned back to Dr. Strange. "What the hell is going on?!" He asked frantically. Dr. Strange ignored him, walking past him, and when Peter went in front of him, Dr. Strange walked directly through him.

Peter froze. This was not ideal. 

He saw the portal starting to close, and he just managed to throw himself through it into a hellscape of a battle. Worst of all, everyone was ignoring him. "Hey!" He rushed up to the footloose guy, who ignored him the same way Strange had. "HEY!" He shouted louder. 

No one paid him any mind.

Peter reeled back with a sudden epiphany. Was he dead?! He must have died back on Titan, and now he was a ghost. Which he figured was appropriate, he never believed in ghosts.

But then why was everyone else there? Peter had watched them turn to ash. 

A familiar _thwip_ caught his attention and he jerked his head up, seeing himself flying through the air and kicking the Falcon in the face.

Well, that couldn't be right. Because Peter was right here, a transparent ghost, but he was also swinging and fighting, and attacking the Avengers and everyone else...

"Damn." Peter said quietly. Maybe this was a pre-death hallucination, maybe he was seeing how he died. But...then why was he attacking the good guys? Punching the Falcon made a little sense, but it didn't make sense that he sent a web grenade towards the War Machine. 

Peter searched in a panic for anything that could help him and paused when he caught sight of a sock puppet on the ground. It had two googly eyes and was scribbled on hastily with red and blue designs, looking vaguely like his suit. Eight pipe cleaners stuck out from the sides, like legs...

Spider legs.

Peter knelt down and saw a hastily scrawled note next to it.

_Use this as a vessel. I'm the one with the magnet gun  
-F. Pines_

"What the hell is a magnet gun?!" Peter said out loud. He heard a loud clang and saw several armored alien monsters zooming towards an older man who was aiming at them with some sort of ray gun with a fat barrel. At the last moment, the man lowered the gun, diving out of the way of the monsters, who all smashed into a huge piece of debris.

That was probably it.

*** *** ***  
"Hey Mr. Pines." 

Ford whirled around, aiming his gun, and froze when he saw a floating sock puppet. The one he had left out, not really believing it would be any use.

The puppet yelped, jumping back. "Ohmygod don't shoot! Well, I mean, I don't know if anything would happen if you shoot. Does that thing use magnetic pulses?! That's so cool!"

Ford blinked. "Are...are you Spider-man?" 

"Yeah. Did you make the sock puppet? It's cool. The legs are funny." The puppet answered.

"It was my great-niece's idea." Ford said, unsure if this was really happening.

"Ooh, tell her I like it. Very creative. Anyway, what the hell is going on? Am I dead? I have an English paper due and my friend will be pissed if I don't do my part." The puppet said. He was trying to joke, but Ford could hear muffled panic. 

"Not exactly-" He paused to kill an alien-an Outrider, he had been told-that lunged. "Do you see that?" He pointed at Bill, who was currently on top of debris, looking for more people to torment. 

"Yeah. What's up with that?" Spider-man asked.

"That's your body. It's being possessed by an interdimensional monster named Bill. Stark made a deal with him so he could bring you back. But he only brought your body back, and now he's using it to get his plan into motion." Ford explained.

"What? Why would Mr. Stark do that?" The puppet asked.

Ford paused, blinking at the puppet. Children could be so dense sometimes. Especially teenagers.

"Can I get my body back?" Peter asked, sounding like he was ordering food.

"In theory. Since you yourself didn't surrender control, it might be possible for you to go inside and try and influence Bill." Ford said.

"I can't just kick him out?!" Spider-man lamented.

"Bill is one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. I highly doubt you can best him." Ford said.

"Well-Mr. Stark!" The puppet sounded horrified, and Ford saw Bill pounce at Stark, knocking him down. 

"Spider-man, don't-" Ford said, but it was too late. 

The puppet was zooming towards Bill, and then discarded.

*** *** ***

Tony spat blood from his mouth, glaring at Bill with hate. The mask retreated, and Tony saw his face. Peter's face, scandalized and bloody from this monster.

'Monster' didn't even begin to cover Bill.

"I'LL SAY THIS, METAL HEAD," Bill said, voice having lost the glee, and was now replaced with anger. "YOU DID SOMETHING I THOUGHT WAS IMPOSSIBLE. I HATE YOU MORE THAN THOSE STUPID TWINS. I'LL ENJOY KILLING YOU. ALMOST AS MUCH AS I'LL ENJOY MAKING YOUR CUTE LITTLE LOVER WATCH ME PLUCK YOUR SMELLY BABY APART CELL BY CELL-"

With a roar of fury, Tony fired a repulsor blast at Bill. Right before it hit, something weird happened. Bill's eyes widened, and he jerked forward and if someone had slapped him on the back. His eyes closed, and when they opened, they were no longer yellow. He gasped out "Mr. Stark-"

And then he was thrown back by the repulsor blast. 

"Ow." Bill said weakly, voice sounding entirely different. "Ow. Ow ow ow ow OW oh my GOD!" Bill continued. But...

Tony stood up slowly, not wanting to believe it. 

"OW! Holy SHIT! What the hell is wrong?!" A gasping voice said.

Tony crept forward, the sounds of battle suddenly muted.

"Bill?" Tony asked.

Bill lifted his head up weakly, but-it wasn't Bill.

Peter's hazel eyes were screwed up in pain, but he still managed a weak grin. "Hey Mr. Stark." He said, voice wobbly. "This...ow. This kinda sucks."

Tony fell to his knees, hugging Peter, letting go immediately when Peter yelped like a kicked puppy. "Oh shit, I'm sorry..." Tony said, carefully propping Peter up.

"My insides..." Peter wheezed. "My guts feel like...someone took an electric mixer...and put knives on it...and then shot me eighty times."

Tony laughed tearfully. "You got hit by a semi-truck." 

"That'd do it." Peter grunted. 

Suddenly he pitched forward again, and he jumped up, eyes yellow again. He punched Tony in the face. Tony reeled back, feeling something crack.

"Hey!" He heard Peter's voice yell, and the body jerked again, Peter now at the helm. "Get out! This isn't AirBNB!"

"FINDERS KEEPERS, ORPHAN BOY!" The body jerked again. 

"That's the best you got?! Orphan boy?!" Another jerk.

"EXCUUUUSE ME IF I CAN'T THINK UP PERFECT NICKNAMES ON THE FLY! I'M FOCUSING ON A LOT HERE!"

"Get out! This isn't your body!"

Bill-definitely Bill, his eyes were yellow-laughed. "YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME?! I'M AN INTERDIMENSIONAL DREAM DEMON, AND I WON'T BE DEFEATED BY THE LIKES OF A STUPID CHILD-"

Bill suddenly punched himself in the face. The yellow eyes blinked, looking shocked.

"DID...YOU JUST PUNCH YOURSELF IN THE FACE?" Bill asked.

The body jerked, and Peter's hazel eyes narrowed. "I punched you in the face, technically."

"WHY, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Tony blinked, watching in horror as Bill and Peter fought for control each clawing and attacking the body, looking vaguely like they were trying to swat a bug. It would have been funny if the fate of the universe wasn't on the line.

"Mr. Stark-" Bill managed to grab control long enough the dislocate his shoulder, and Peter paid the price, yelping. "You gotta go, I'll take care of this-"

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU IDIOT!"

"Kid, I can't just leave you-" Tony dodged when Bill lunged, only to be taken over by Peter.

"Please! There's nothing you can do! I gotta stop him!" Peter said.

Tony paused, unsure what to do, watching helplessly as Peter fought to control his own broken body. "...I'll be back, kid." He said, a massive weight of guilt on his chest.

And despite everything, Peter still managed to smile at him.


	16. Everything

Being yanked in and out of your own body made one quite motion sick, as Peter discovered. 

That alone was enough to make him reluctant to fight for control. But the pain...

Whatever Bill had been doing with his body hadn't been great. Whenever he regained control, a blinding flash of pain took him over entirely, and he had to fight to not instantly jump out.

A small part of him kept screaming to stop, to just let Bill have it...but a larger part of him had to keep fighting. He couldn't let Bill succeed. 

When Bill threw him out again this time, he wasn't fast enough to grab on again before Bill swung off, trying to get away from Peter. 

Or trying to get something.

Peter gasped in horror. Above him, a woman was riding a Pegasus (?!) and clutching something shiny. A gauntlet, with several glowing stones in it. 

The Infinity Stones. And Bill was going for them. 

Peter shrieked, zooming up, gaining control just for a moment, falling short of his target. On instinct, he grabbed the Pegasus' leg, gripping tightly. The Pegasus whinnied, trying to kick Peter off and flying erratically due to the uneven weight.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" The woman yelled at him. She reminded him of MJ.

Peter just screamed in response.

He was knocked out of his body, and he watched in horror was Bill swung up onto the horse, surprising the woman long enough to snatch the gauntlet and jump off like a parachuter. Except he had no parachute.

A bright, glowing woman caught Bill, and the mask peeled back to reveal Bill's startled face. "HEYA LIGHTBULB-" He was cut off with a punch in the face.

Peter dove back in. "Wait wait wait!" He begged the woman. "It's me! Peter! Peter Parker!"

The woman looked surprised. "You're not-"

"Yeah, I kicked him out, but you gotta take the gauntlet, I don't think-" Peter tumbled out, shrieking when Bill ripped himself out of the woman's grip, falling to the ground. 

Peter yelled. "NO!" He dove back towards his body, but Bill spotted him and held up the gauntlet. Peter dove straight into it, and everything went white-

*** *** ***  
Peter opened his eyes to find he was in space.

Stars floated around him, seeming like he could reach out touch them. Gorgeous, colorful galaxies twinkled in the inky blackness. 

Peter paused. He could breathe. The pain was gone.

Where was he...?

"WELCOME TO THE MINDSCAPE!" 

Peter whirled around, seeing a bright yellow triangle with a single eye appear from the blackness. He had a top hat and bow tie on, and dangling, stick arms and legs.

Peter reeled backwards.

"A LITTLE MUCH? I SUPPOSE MY APPEARANCE CAN BE ODD FOR HUMANS LIKE YOU..." The triangle disappeared, and flashes of people appeared before Peter, and then he was faced with Ben.

Ben was grinning at him, eyes yellow.

"Stop it." Peter said, trying to keep the shaking out of his voice.

Ben-no no no no-laughed. "AW PETE, RELAX. I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU. SIT BACK, RELAX! DO YOU PLAY CHESS? HAVE A CUP OF TEA!" 

An odd-looking chessboard and a floating cup filled with dark liquid appeared before Peter. Peter leaned away. "Stop. You aren't Ben. Give me my body back!"

"I'D BE HAPPY TOO. I'M NOT SURE IF YOU WANT IT BACK, THOUGH. SORRY IT'S A LITTLE BANGED UP, METAL HEAD SENT ME FLYING THROUGH A WINDSHIELD AND LET ME GET HIT BY A BUS." 

"Good." Peter spat.

Ben-no, Bill-laughed. "NOW NOW, PETE. I WANT TO SET THINGS RIGHT. I NEVER MEANT FOR YOU TO GET TANGLED UP IN ALL THIS."

"You hurt Mr. Stark. You hurt so many people." Peter said, voice thick. Ben, God. Why did it have to be Ben?

"ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR. WELL, IT'S JUST WAR, BUT IT STILL APPLIES. I WANT TO OFFER YOU A BOONE, PETE." Ben leaned forward, sitting on a chair that had just materialized. 

"AREN'T YOU TIRED OF THIS?" Ben asked, voice soft, comforting. Peter's breath hitched.

"AREN'T YOU TIRED OF FIGHTING? OF THE PAIN? OF THE GRIEF? IT NEVER ENDS, PETER. IT'S HUMAN EXISTENCE. I CAN OFFER AN END." Ben said.

"You're lying. You're a liar! Leave me alone!" Peter yelled, choking on tears. God, he was sick of it. Of losing people he loved, never being quite good enough to stop it. Tired of having to be a hero. He just wanted to be Peter.

"POWER IS A BURDEN," Ben said. "I UNDERSTAND THAT. I'VE UNDERSTOOD FOR SO LONG. WE AREN'T SO DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW. WE NEVER ASKED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FUTURE."

Peter hid his face in his hands, unable to stop his sobs. Ben put a hand on his shoulder. "WE CAN END IT, PETER. WE CAN STOP IT. YOU CAN REST. I CAN LET YOU GO FREE IN THE NEW WORLD I'M CREATING. YOU CAN BE WHATEVER YOU WANT."

"Why me?" Peter asked.

"YOU'RE STRONG. FAR STRONGER THAN I ANTICIPATED. I'VE NEVER MET A BEING WITH THE WILL TO FIGHT ME OFF, AND EVEN THOUGH YOU'VE FAILED, YOU IMPRESSED ME." Ben said.

Peter looked up at him. "My...my friends."

"BENEATH YOU."

Peter jolted back. "Stop it." He snapped. "Stop it. Stop planting ideas in my head!"

"I'M NOT PLANTING ANYTHING. I'M ONLY SEEING WHAT'S ALREADY THERE."

Peter sobbed, unable to think straight. God, everything hurt. Could it stop? Could he really be better? Could Ben deliver that?

"With great power, comes great responsibility." Peter said, voice muffled.

Ben's smile fell. "WHAT?"

"You're right. I didn't want to be a superhero. 'Cause turns out, being one kind of sucks and isn't nearly as cool as it looks." Peter forced himself up, staring Ben-Bill, it was Bill-dead in the eye. "But now that I can do something, I need to actually do it. Otherwise, I'm as bad as the villains."

Bill frowned, yellow eyes becoming more prominent. Then he laughed. "YOU'LL LOSE."

"Let me out! LET ME OUT BILL!" Peter screamed, lunging at Bill. The Ben avatar disappeared, and Bill Cipher in his true triangle form appeared, swatting Peter back with the force of a grenade.

"HA! YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME?! YOU MADE A MISTAKE, ORPHAN BOY. YOU'VE LOST IN EVERY SINGLE WAY, AND YET YOU STILL MANAGE TO LOSE IN ONE MORE!" Bill aimed a finger gun at Peter, and a blue ray shot out, hitting Peter.

Agony, as he had never experienced, rocked him, and Peter screamed, completely unaware he was screaming until he felt his throat hurt.

"I'VE GOT THE GAUNTLET NOW! IF THANOS CAN'T SNAP, I'LL DO IT! SAY GOODBYE, PARKER!" Peter saw through blurry vision that he was indeed wearing the gauntlet, white lines of power racing up his arm. 

"No-" Peter said, crying out again when Bill shot another painful ray.

He closed his eyes.

_No no no._

_Come on Peter._

_Come on._

_You can't let him succeed._

_It sucks ass, but it's up to you._

_Come on Peter._

_**Come on Spider-man!** _

Suddenly, he was back in his own body, vision blurry as ever, the agony only increasing. He could feel the stones eating away at himself, at everything. But he had a job.

Then he was back, this time in his apartment at Queens. Bill Cipher was lunging at him, this time as May. "NO! STOP!"

Peter gasped, focusing again, seeing the battlefield, raising the gauntlet. 

He popped between the visions, each time Bill screaming at him to stop, until through one eye he was watching himself and the battlefield, through the other focused on his apartment in Queens, up in blue flames, Bill screaming at him.

"NO! NO NO NO! THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE!" Bill wailed.

Peter saw Thanos staring at him with a mixture of horror and shock. Mr. Stark was running to him, yelling.

Bill changed shapes. Now he was Ned. "DON'T YOU SEE?! IF YOU SNAP, YOU'LL NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN!"

Mr. Stark was crying, Peter could see that now, in a haze.

"I'M THE ONLY ONE KEEPING YOU TOGETHER!" Now Bill was Mr. Stark, falling to his knees, clawing at Peter pathetically, begging.

Mr. Stark was screaming at Peter to stop, put the gauntlet down.

Peter closed his eyes, seeing only Bill now. Now Bill turned into Peter, and Peter was staring at himself begging him not to snap his fingers.

"YOU'LL DIE! YOU'LL DIE AND YOU'LL NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN! I CAN OFFER YOU FAME, POWER, YOUR OWN GALAXY! YOU CAN'T DO THIS, IT ISN'T POSSIBLE!" Bill screamed, in Peter's body, grabbing his arm.

Peter yanked away, and Bill was once again a triangle, powerless and unable to regain control over Peter.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Bill wailed. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! ARE YOU REALLY READY TO END IT ALL?!"

Peter stared him dead in the eye. Oddly, he didn't feel scared. 

"Are you?" He asked quietly.

Bill's eye widened, realizing he was defeated.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Peter snapped his fingers.

*** *** ***

Tony was thrown back by a blinding white flash, and for a moment, he thought he went blind. 

Then the world came back into focus. 

Ash floated around, silent. No terror, no crying. Thanos' army was disappearing. 

Tony watched with no emotion as Thanos sat, looking at the ground. 

The Mad Titan fell into ash.

"Peter." Tony said, not on his own volition. He scrambled forward, ripping off pieces of his ruined suit. It was only weighing him down.

Peter lay on the ground, the gauntlet comically large on his diminutive frame, the right side of him burned horrifically.

The smell was gone.

Peter wheezed, the breath rattling around in his frail body like a coin in a piggy bank. "Peter, hey, kid. Eyes up." He tapped Peter's cheek gently.

Peter blinked, dulled eyes focusing on him. "M'ssr..." He trailed off, a wet cough wracking him.

Distantly, Tony was aware of the Avengers gathering around. He heard crying. Maybe it was him. "Hey hey, none of that. Just relax. We'll have you fixed up-"

"T'ny." 

Tony froze, forcing himself to look Peter in the eyes. Peter smiled weakly. Not Bill's smile, filled with the joy of pain and suffering. An exhausted one, a real one. Filled with pain, but knowing he would be fine soon.

"He's...he's gone." Peter said in a whisper.

"Yeah...yeah, he is. You did good, kid. You did so good." Tony choked. 

Peter wheezed again, the breath going on for eternity. He was slipping. Tony could tell. But his brain refused to accept it.

Peter, so full of life, dead and still on the ground? No, it wasn't possible. The universe couldn't allow it.

"May." Peter said, his voice a whisper carrying the weight of a scream.

"She'll be okay, I promise. I...did I tell you I have a daughter now?" Tony asked. 

Peter's fading eyes managed to focus on Tony, conveying distant surprise.

"Y-yeah, Morgan. She's just as much as a little shit as you are, but...God, I love her." He took Peter's hand, shaking. "I...I'm so sorry Pete. I'm sorry. I'm sorry this is how it ends." He squeezed his hand gently. "I love you."

Peter smiled.

Tony closed his eyes, tears rolling down his cheek as Peter Benjamin Parker exhaled, and failed to inhale.

Tony had never heard a louder silence than the one that followed.


	17. Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart

Ford stared out the window of the bus lifelessly, watching the pine tree forest blur together in a haze of green and brown, passing him by, oblivious to him. To everyone.

How much had these trees witnessed? Two apocalypses, for one. But Gravity Falls was bigger than just that. It was a magnet for the impossible, constantly innovating and evolving, surviving things even Bill Cipher couldn’t push past, watching maybe millennia of miracles hide in their branches. Ford had wasted most of his life trying to unlock the secret, and it still eluded him, seemingly just out of reach. But in reality, they hid under an ironclad cover of mystery and magic. They were enigmas that couldn’t be answered. Or maybe they were never meant to be.

The bus bounced over a particularly large pothole, and Ford jolted from his daydream, looking down at the old sock in his lap, now scorched badly, barely visible blue and red designs in fabric marker scoured out by ash. The pipe cleaner legs were splayed out unevenly, ironically similar to Peter when he finally...finally…

_The bright flash of white that he thought would blind him, but when it finally faded, the enemy was disappearing in the bitter wind, Thanos sitting, head down, defeated as he fell into ash, Peter laying on his back, looking oddly peaceful, and Ford stupidly thought he might be okay until he really saw it…_

The trees didn’t mind. They watched the world move on.

In spite of himself, Ford found himself humming that damned song that seemed to have drilled itself into him. 

_We’ll meet again. Don’t know where, don’t know when. But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day…_

Maybe he would. But he was confident that if there was something good and happy beyond that barrier, he wouldn’t see Bill.

He hoped there were lots of high places for Peter.

The bus rolled to a stop, and the doors opened in front of the Mystery Shack. A drop-off point for the tourists passing through on their way to their true destination, a drop off point between the natural and supernatural. A barrier in it of itself, standing guard over the odd valley of Gravity Falls.

_Keep smiling through, just like you always do. ‘Til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away…_

Ford hopped off the empty bus, hitching his backpack up again, walking towards the shack, squinting as the sunset burned directly into his face. He opened the door, the wood creaking seeming like a gunshot in the silence.

_So will you please say ‘Hello’ to the folks that I know. Tell them I won’t be long…_

“Finally! Where have you been?!” A strikingly gruff voice called out. Ford froze, his heart rising to his throat. “Did you get milk? We’re out, and I already poured a bowl of cereal.” 

_They’ll be happy to know that as you saw me go I was singing this song…_

As if every good dream Ford had had came true, Stan walked out, in all his pantless glory, holding an empty carton of milk. “We don’t have anything else in the house except a jar of pickles, and I’m pretty sure they’re older than me.” He laughed at his joke.

_We’ll meet again…_

Stan blinked, seeing the odd look on Ford’s face. “Hey, Pointdexter, what’s wrong? You look like you saw a ghost.” Stan stepped forward, but Ford was already there, hugging him, sobbing. Stan looked beyond confused but hugged back. “Hey...what’s wrong?”

_Don’t know where…_

As if on cue, the twins entered, having been in town with their friends all day. They had somehow managed to make their way to Gravity Falls through a mix of begging and desperation. Ford couldn’t tell which twin’s scream of joy was more high pitched; Mabel’s or Dipper’s. It was probably Dipper.

_Don’t know when…_

Somewhere in the blur of the reunion, Ford managed to hand the damaged sock puppet back to Mabel. Her face fell, immediately seeming to realize what happened. “Did...did he like it?” She asked in a tiny whisper.

Ford smiled for her. “He said the legs were a nice touch. He likes your style.”

And Mabel smiled back.

_But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day…_

*** *** ***  
Tony couldn't make himself go to the funeral, so he had Pepper make him do it.

He was quite impressed with May. She managed everything for the funeral, refusing Tony's offers of help. She wanted to do it herself. 

She seemed to be handling the death of the only person left in her family better than Tony thought he ever could. 

"Just do me one favor." May had said over the phone.

"Anything." Tony had responded, meaning it. Whether she asked for his company or a Tic Tac, he would have indulged her.

"Keep his identity of Spider-man a secret. I don't think he'd want that. He wasn't in it for the fame. He just wanted to help people. I think he'd want to keep Spider-man a symbol rather than put a face too it." May said.

"Plus he doesn't want to make those bad guy's asses he kicked to feel embarrassed about losing to a kid." Tony joked, and then immediately wondered if it was appropriate.

But May laughed, and then the laughs turned into sobs, and then the phone call went from professional to painful in a second.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Pepper asked, bouncing the fussy Morgan. Morgan had recently discovered the joy of putting non-edible objects in her mouth and was quite displeased with the fact that Pepper wouldn't let her eat her wedding ring.

"You're supposed to be convincing me to go, not the other way around." Tony remarked, fixing a dead smile on his face.

"Peter wouldn't blame you if you didn't go." Pepper replied softly, putting her hand on his shoulder. 

Tony sighed deeply. "I know. It's...something I have to do. I..." He trailed off.

Pepper kissed his cheek softly. "I love you."

"I love you too." 

Morgan gurgled happily, and Tony smiled in spite of himself.

*** *** ***  
The funeral was small, considering Peter helped save the universe. 

If it were up to Tony, he would have every single living organism attend the funeral, screw the impossibility of it.

But...somehow, this meant just as much. 

The Avengers were there, along with the Guardians, that one kid Ned who was Peter's best friend (his 'Guy in the Chair', he remembered Peter saying) and a girl Tony had never met. 

They were at the beach, in Maine. May had said they went there once as a family vacation when times were simpler and there weren't so many heroes and monsters. Peter had loved it, and May had decided to spread his ashes there. 

Tony watched silently, watching the ash fall drift in the ocean breeze, ocean crashing in a chorus that Tony decided was mourning from the Earth itself. 

Screw impossibility.

Morgan cooed, reaching out towards the water as if she could tame it. The waves crashed against the shoreline, seafoam spraying up and waving back at Morgan, and Morgan pulled her hand back, deciding that maybe mastering the water was for another day. 

"Stark." 

Tony turned, not too surprised to see Ford standing behind him, clad in a black suit instead of a trench coat. Tony nodded, not even bothering to hide tears.

Ford glanced at Morgan. "Is...this your daughter?" He asked. Tony nodded again.

"Morgan." Tony said. Ford cracked a small smile. 

Tony blinked, seeing that Ford was flanked by a man who looked nearly identical to him, save for an obvious gut.

"Oh," Ford said, seeming to realize. "This is my brother. Stanley." He stepped aside.

"Stan." The man corrected, voice gruff but kind. He offered his hand, and Tony shook it. "I'm...I'm sorry about what happened." Stan said, words halting.

Tony swallowed hard, trying to think of a response. 'It's okay?' No, because it wasn't okay. 'It wasn't your fault?' No need to state the obvious. 

Tony was only realizing now there were no good words for grief.

Morgan babbled something, and Tony glanced down at her. "Do you want to hold her?" He heard himself say. 

Stan and Ford both looked shocked. "What?"

"Do you want to hold her?" Tony asked again, more sure this time.

"Stark, we appreciate the gesture, but-" Ford started, but Tony cut him off.

"Tony. It's Tony. And it's fine. I trust you. You won't hurt her. You have a great niece and nephew?" He held out Morgan.

Very, very slowly, as if Morgan might combust, Ford took her. Morgan grabbed onto his extra finger, grinning. Ford did a bad job disguising his own smile. "...yeah. Dipper and Mabel. They wanted to come, but they could barely get their parents to let them come to Gravity Falls for the weekend. They couldn't go to Maine." 

"Good kids." Stan said gruffly, doing a horrible job of disguising the affection and pride in his voice. "Annoying as hell, but..." He shrugged.

Tony smiled. "Sounds like Peter." 

"They...they send their best wishes," Ford said. Tony nodded again, blinking away new tears. Ford paused, carefully adjusting Morgan so he could reach into his pocket and hand Tony something. "Here. Mabel said you should have this."

Tony took it, perplexed. It was a ragged sock puppet, scribbled on with blue and red, one of its googly eyes missing. It had several pipe cleaners sticking out of the side.

"What's this?" Tony asked. 

"A puppet. When Peter first...came back, he didn't have a body, so I left this for him to manipulate." Ford looked uncomfortable. "I...told him he could take back his body, I never thought-"

"Are these legs?" Tony asked, touching one of the pipe cleaners gently.

Ford blinked, guilt rush interrupted. "I...yeah. Mabel said I should add eight legs, since he's Spider-man, even though he doesn't have eight legs..."

Tony started laughing, a foreign sound, but to his shock, it was genuine. "Oh my God," He choked out. "That's brilliant. Did he like it?"

This time, Ford smiled too. "He thought it was a creative touch." 

"Yeah, it is. Tell Mabel she's got a future in graphic design at Stark Industries if she wants it." Tony said.

Stan barked out a laugh. "Dipper's gonna lose it over that." 

"Yeah, well, they can both come to visit when they like. I'll keep a spot open for both of them." Tony said, very carefully placing the sock puppet in his pocket. 

Ford handed Morgan back, and hesitantly offered his hand. Tony shook his hand without hesitation, noting with some distant surprise a six-fingered handshake felt no different than a five-fingered one.

"Thanks, Tony. For everything." Ford said thickly.

"You as well, Ford. Take care." Tony nodded.

He watched the brothers leave, each in step with the other, two halves whole again, off on a new adventure. Morgan started fussing, wriggling, giving off her 'I'm hungry and if you don't feed me right now I'll fuck shit up' cry. Pepper didn't like the name Tony had for it, but it was accurate.

"Time to start a new adventure, Peter." Tony whispered to himself, going to meet Pepper before Morgan started to cry too loud.

And the ocean rolled on, ceaseless and loud, a cacophony of grief and noise. But in it, Tony found an odd shelter, managing to see the last bits of ash disappear into the horizon.

Not ash from Titan, the planet of dust, blood, and death. It was different in a way Tony couldn't quite explain.

Peace. That was it, that was the word.

Peace. Peter had found his peace, and Tony knew he'd be very patient until he met up with everyone else. Maybe he was getting up to new adventures.

Tony put his arm around Pepper unconsciously. It was time to start his own new adventure. 

He breathed in the smell of the ocean spray.

And breathed out hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for sticking with me along this wild ride.
> 
> thank you to every single comment and kudo and view. it means the world
> 
> if yall want updates on my writing and such, follow my Instagram @toad.in.the.road  
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> 
> Love,  
> a_toad_in_the_road  
> (Emma)


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